Page 3905 - Week 12 - Thursday, 23 November 2006
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of the sunset clause being removed. Removal of the sunset clause is a very important issue in any legislation, especially in legislation such as this.
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (5.41): The Long Service Leave (Contract Cleaning Industry) Act came into force on 24 July 2000. The Greens supported the act in 1999, when it was debated in the Assembly. We continue to support it now through this amendment which will see the sunset clause removed. I note Mr Stefaniak’s concern about consultation. Of course, the Greens believe that employers, as well as employees, should be consulted with. I look forward to hearing the government’s explanation for that.
I assume subsection (6) of section 64 was designed to ensure a review of the section could be conducted. I am not sure that the government has conducted any type of formal review but, given the importance and success of this section of the act, I cannot see any reason for the Greens to ensure that one has been formally conducted. I note Mr Stefaniak’s mention of a lack of information, a lack of data. I agree that that would have been a useful supplement to this amendment.
As we know, cleaners are low-paid workers. Many of them are women from non-English-speaking backgrounds who work part time. In 1999 Kerrie Tucker, in response to the initial bill, said:
Under the brave new world of Liberal Party industrial relations, this group is not well supported and will be even less so with Reith’s new initiatives.
I wonder how they will fare under Andrews’s initiatives. I think the implications for workers are greater than the implications for employers. According to the recent Clean Start LHMU publication, the average annual income for a cleaner is $14,360, while the Australian poverty line stands at $15,288. Meanwhile, the average income for a full-time worker is $56,087. Under these circumstances, and in such a casualised industry, I do not know how many workers would qualify to accumulate and take long service leave. Perhaps the minister can tell me in his closing speech whether long service leave is portable and whether or not workers experience it as an extra dollar or two in their pay packet if they do not take it.
With the introduction of WorkChoices, low-skilled workers are threatened with lower wages and a loss of entitlements. Legislative assurance for their access to long service leave hopefully provides some light to these difficult conditions. As those of us who clean our houses know, and as we know from other aspects of our lives, cleaners’ work is unforgiving; it is perpetual; it is there to be done every day. And, of course, the cleaner’s job usually involves an awful lot more than we expect of ourselves in our houses. Many workers are dependent on the job, as they are low skilled and thus are unlikely to complain about unfair employment conditions. That is why their union is so important and why programs like this and the union campaign are crucial.
Finally, I reiterate the importance of the government implementing a similar program for community service employees. The community sector has been campaigning on this issue for several years. I believe this is a recommendation of the community sector task force report that has been with Minister Barr for about six months. I look
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