Page 650 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 28 March 2006
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Thirty per cent of truck drivers freely admit to being forced to take stimulants to be able to do their job.
ACTCOSS representative Ara Creswell said on inequality:
We will see a steady increase in income inequality and heavier reliance in social services as more people fall through the widening holes in the employment and welfare safety nets.
The report acknowledges the fears and concerns of organisations and individuals. It also acknowledges that the direct impact of Work Choices on working families in the ACT may not be felt for some time. Accordingly, recommendation 3, if adopted, extends the reporting period to the first sitting day in August 2007.
The work of this committee is vital to working families in the ACT. That was acknowledged by many of the witnesses who appeared at the committee hearings. Not only is it important that the committee be given additional time to better understand the effects of Work Choices, but also the committee seeks the provision of resources. As outlined in recommendation 4, the committee seeks resources to research the social and economic impacts on the ACT’s working families. Such research would enable the committee to adequately assess these effects on a much larger scale and, in doing so, would make for a more accurate final report.
This report is the first of its kind in Australia. For the ACT government to continue to lead the way for other states and territories, this committee must be allowed to continue its investigation of the social and economic effects of industrial relations changes on working families in the ACT. I commend the report to the Assembly.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (10.54): I rise to support Mr Gentleman in the tabling of this report and to make some additional comments. As Mr Gentleman said, the Work Choices legislation came into effect yesterday, a day that the industrial landscape of this country was altered beyond recognition, I would suggest. It was radically altered and I believe that it will never be the same again, unless we are very fortunate to have a change of government federally in the near future.
Many who represent the employer organisation in the ACT and, indeed, our own Prime Minister have assured us that the sky will not fall in and that, despite the fears and concerns of many in our community, this brave new world will be of great benefit not only to the employers but also to the employees. As Mr Gentleman said, that is not what we have heard from many people representing those employees. Many have come before us, as he has just said, to outline their real concerns about this legislation. However, I did not think that the impact would be felt quite so soon.
Last week, I was invited to a local high school to answer questions of a year 10 class which had come together specifically to study politics. One of the questions from the year 10 class was about the Work Choices legislation and the effect it might have on the ACT and the workers in the ACT. There was great interest in this question from the young people. After I was leaving the classroom, the teacher came up to me and explained that many of these young people had part time and casual jobs and were concerned that they would be vulnerable under the new legislation as they might be asked to leave their jobs or renegotiate their positions and may not be able to do so.
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