Boycott

Craig Emerson

Shadow IR Minister Craig Emerson was in the union rooms in September. And what he had to say was music to workers' ears. Craig Emerson announced a Latham Government would do away with the conservative's most lethal weapon against the union movement -- 45 d, e, better known as the secondary boycott legislation.

He pledged to disarm the employers by taking the provisions out of the Trades Practices Act and putting it back in the Industrial Relations Act where it belongs.

The anti-boycott legislation enables employers to sue unions for massive damages if they take solidarity action with other unions, or in the case of maritime workers labouring in what is deemed an essential industry, primary action. It is a devastating weapon that takes away the right to strike and ties up unions and individual workers in court, sometimes sending them bankrupt with crippling fines. And like the A bomb, it is an effective deterrent for unions taking action in the first place.

Traditionally the Australian Industrial Relations Commission gives both parties a 72 hour cooling off and conciliation period (section 163a of the old act).

"This would stop any rogue employer taking us down the Federal Court as happened when the union was taken on by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission over attempting to defend the right of our port workers to do their traditional and historic job of washing out hatches between cargoes," said National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "This protection for overseas shipowners resulted in the MUA having to pay big legal costs and fines.

"The problem is the current legislation is wieghted totally in favour of the employers," he said..

"Labor will give working Australians a fair go," said Craig Emerson. "John Howard does not believe in a fair go for working Australians. We'll re-instate and reinforce the role of the trade union movement. The Labor Party is proud of our labour roots. When John Howard says we are close to the unions we say 'guilty as charged'."

The shadow minister said Labor will ensure working conditions are fair while retaining flexibility in working arrangements needed for Australia's future growth.

The Howard Government has taken away protections for vulnerable working Australians. It has encouraged the use of casual employment even for people who have been in the same job for a long time. And the Howard Government hasn't done anything to help working people to balance their work and family lives.

• 1 in 4 workers are now employed as casuals and this is projected to rise to 1 in 3 by the end of this decade.

• The Howard Government's Australian Workplace Agreements are secretive, individual contracts that are rarely negotiated -- they are usually provided on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.

• The current full-time minimum wage is $467 a week as a result of wage increases sought by the ACTU -- but if the Howard Government had its way, the minimum wage would be only $423 a week ($44 a week less).

The Howard Government boasts that it has "only just begun" to deregulate the labour market -- stripping away more of the protections for working Australians.

John Howard has turned a blind eye to the illegal underpayment of wages. Last year, about 5,000 employees complained to the Howard Government about illegal underpayments - yet the Government prosecuted only 7 cases.

A Latham Labor Government will boost funding to programs that stop illegal wage underpayments with an additional $10 million a year.

Labor will improve job security by:

• giving long-term, regular casuals a better chance of converting to permanent work.

• guaranteeing the protection of 100 per cent of the entitlements of employees where an employer goes broke, while protecting small business from any additional costs.

Labor will encourage family-friendly workplaces by:

• supporting parents returning from parental leave who want to return to work on a part-time basis.

• making sure awards and workplace agreements contain family-friendly provisions.

Labor will help working Australians to get a fair deal when negotiating with their employer by:

• abolishing Australian Workplace Agreements. (Existing AWAs will continue until they expire.)

• helping parties to avoid and resolve disputes, and allowing the Industrial Relations Commission to fix deadlocked disputes.

• making sure that employers and unions negotiate in good faith.