Page 1245 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 April 2016
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MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Racing and Gaming and Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations) (10.21): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
Australians are working longer hours than ever before. While Australia ranks first in the OECD’s better life index, it ranks 29 out of 36 countries in regards to work-life balance. This is primarily because over 14 per cent of employed Australians work 50 or more hours a week compared to the OECD average of nine per cent. Excessive work hours are not conducive to good physical or mental health. They put pressure on family and social interactions and, of course, rest. As this is becoming more and more common, .it is important that employee health be supported by the provision of leave to periodically ensure adequate rest and respite. Long service leave is one mechanism that facilitates this.
Madam Speaker, long service leave now forms part of the national employment standards. As of 1 January 2010, the standards have applied to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system, regardless of the industrial instrument or contract of employment. However, even with these positive acknowledgements of the importance of long service leave, one historic relic has largely remained: the concept of tying eligibility to service with just the one employer.
Workforce mobility is high, with almost one in five workers employed by their current employer for less than one year. This has led to a relatively low prevalence of long-term employment relationships, with around three in four workers staying with their employer for less than 10 years. Ten years is, however, the standard qualifying period for long service leave. This structural trend away from long-term employment is limiting access to long service leave for a large portion of the workforce. This is a limitation that is particularly pronounced for women, who are much more likely to take a break from the workforce and, therefore, lose the right to long service leave.
Madam Speaker, portable long service leave has been introduced to mitigate these inequalities by allowing workers to move between employers in specific industries without losing credit for time worked in that industry. The industries selected for portable schemes are characterised by short-term employment, contract work, high mobility, and part-time and casual employment.
Several of the industries covered by portable long service leave in the ACT also have reasonably or markedly low average salaries. This is certainly the case for the aged-care sector, where the median income at the last census in 2011 was $43,000 per annum. By recognising and encouraging loyalty within these industries, the schemes benefit employees by facilitating sustainable career paths while providing a variety of work opportunities. The schemes benefit consumers of industry services by encouraging the attraction and retention of skilled workers within the industry.
However, to achieve these benefits, the schemes may disadvantage employers by reducing worker loyalty to individual employers and requiring employers to pay
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