Page 1008 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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Government Services and Procurement) (4.18): I rise in support of Ms Cody’s bill and the government amendments to be moved by Minister Rattenbury. Workers rights are human rights and this government is committed to supporting and protecting working Canberrans. I welcome the timeliness of today’s debate, as it highlights the fundamental right to a secure job and the benefits that come with it during a time in which millions of Australians are facing significant uncertainty in their employment. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our entire community and it is vital that working people are provided with continued support throughout this crisis.
As a government, we have been focused on delivering much-needed support by providing emergency access to leave entitlements, creating new jobs to keep people employed and ensuring that work health and safety obligations are being upheld across all industries and sectors. Thousands of Canberrans are accessing the commonwealth government’s JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments. However, our government recognises the responsibility we have in delivering additional support to Canberrans across the public and private sectors.
We are all aware of the long-term damage that COVID-19 will cause to our economy and the workers who keep the economy running. Unemployment is set to increase dramatically over the coming months, and our government will do everything we can to keep Canberrans in their jobs, create new, secure jobs right across the territory and deliver financial support quickly to those who find themselves out of work.
This bill acknowledges that workers have the right to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, a right which this government is proud to uphold and protect. The ACT secure local jobs code provides the government with mechanisms to ensure that workers engaged in government procurements experience the highest ethical and labour standards. We will continue to do business only with employers that are proven to treat their workers properly, as we recognise the community’s expectations that public money be paid to employers who do the right thing by their workers.
As an employer of 22,000 Canberrans in the ACT public service, the ACT government take its responsibility to uphold workplace obligations seriously. Many of the workers engaged in the ACT public service are engaged in service delivery roles, including nurses, firefighters, rangers, bus drivers and teachers. Those workers and their public service colleagues support our community each and every day. It is only fair that they are engaged in a secure job with workplace conditions that protect them.
As a minister in this government, I support the inclusion of the rights outlined in this bill in the ACT Human Rights Act. To me, it is a no-brainer that we should ensure that all workers are empowered with the fundamental right to work, with the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work and an entitlement to enjoy these rights without discrimination.
This bill includes the declaration of the right to join a trade union, with the objective of promoting or protecting their economic or other social interests. It continues further to declare that everyone has the right to protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in relation to their employment. These are rights that I wholeheartedly
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