Page 3970 - Week 12 - Thursday, 20 October 2005
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“The normal time for doing business is 9 o’clock in the morning and, if you want people to work after 7 o’clock at night, that is very strange; so we have to create a penalty arrangement for this.” We have to face the fact that our city and our society have changed, and we should be reflecting in industrial practices and industrial terms and conditions a situation that takes into account what is the normal way of doing business.
The normal pattern of business at some industries is not of a Monday from 9.00 am till
5.30 pm, as though they are all in the public sector. Let us look at these things in an historical context before we get too excited. I have no problem with people getting paid fairly for their effort, and I am quite sure that we will continue to see people paid fairly for their effort.
Ms Gallagher: That is big of you.
MR MULCAHY: I did not hear that comment, but I am sure it would have been in the same spirit as all the other comments there. I am more than happy to respond if you want to repeat it.
Employers and employees who wish to keep their current terms and conditions certainly will be able to do so. Workers currently on awards can transfer those terms and conditions into agreements which will now be able to run for up to five years rather than for the current maximum of three. Employees will be able to keep their conditions until they agree to new arrangements with their employers. I hope the minister is getting across all this because I know she feels she does not know what is going on. I am trying my best to help her. I am keen to point out all these things because apparently she does not know what is going on with this. The minister can get it on the internet site, if she wants, but, if the minister wants to be told firsthand, I am happy to let her know.
In contrast to the scaremongering we hear from union apologists opposite, lunch breaks, public holidays and a minimum of four weeks annual leave will continue to be protected in the new legislation. So the world is not coming to an end. I promise you: we are not putting children back down into coalmines. The work of William Wilberforce and others is safe. In contrast to other misleading union claims, unions will still have the right to negotiate collective agreements. Union right of entry to workplaces will continue to exist, and the Industrial Relations Commission will continue to play a role in the resolution of industrial disputes and the determination of awards.
For the first time ever under the federal system, a common set of minimum terms and conditions will apply to all employees. And won’t that be good! People will know they are guaranteed certain minimum standards. There will be no confusion; there will be no disparity on this; and knowing their entitlements is something that will give a lot of people confidence.
The current system consists of thousands of different awards. I am yet to meet anybody who could confidently find their way through most industrial awards, even when they have been in industries for a long time. They are complex documents; they are difficult to read; they are constantly subject to mixed interpretations and ambiguity. I have spent most of my career dealing with employers who have struggled to find their way through these awards and work out what they mean. Quite frankly, often industry associations are
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