Employers should accept the outcome of the federal election and immediately stop trying to push workers onto individual contracts, known as ‘Australian Work-place Agreements’ (AWAs), say Australia’s trade unions.
The Australian Workers Union claimed that mining giant BHP Billiton was offering workers in western Queensland a bonus of 10,000 Australian dollars if they signed an AWA.
The union’s national secretary, Paul Howes, said the agreements, which would be binding for five years, had been offered to more than 300 workers at BHP’s Cannington mine near Cloncurry.
And he claimed the move was part of a long-term strategy by BHP Billiton to circumvent any legislation by Australia’s new government that would abolish AWAs.
He claimed the workers were being lured ‘to get a $10,000 once-off cash bonus to sign away their rights to bargain collectively into the future.’
He added: ‘What will happen is when these AWAs expire, all these workers will be left individually having to negotiate one-on-one with a global multi-national like BHP Billiton.’
The trade unions have demanded that the incoming Rudd Labour government abolish AWAs.
BHP is the latest of several employers and employer groups who are rushing to try and put their workers onto AWAs, in case the new government carries out the unions’ demand.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the business lobby group with links to the Liberal Party, have also recently encouraged companies to keep using these AWAs, introduced by the previous government of John Howard.
Jeff Lawrence, secretary of the Australian Congress of Trade Unions (ACTU), said: ‘The federal election was a clear rejection of AWAs and “Workchoices’’ by the Australian public.
‘For over 20 years the Liberal Party and sectional big business groups have promoted individual contracts and an anti-union agenda.
‘But the Australian people have voted overwhelmingly to reject this ideology.
‘Companies need to accept that AWAs have been rejected by the Australian people because they are unfair and take away workers’ rights.
‘Workers voted at the ballot box for the right to bargain collectively and to reject individual contracts.
‘These companies need to respect the wishes of the Australian people and immediately stop the use of AWAs.
‘The Rudd Labour Government is clearly committed to getting rid of AWAs and companies should accept this and sit down cooperatively with workers and unions to discuss collective bargaining.’
Australian Workers Union National Secretary Paul Howes said of BHP’s moves: ‘Unfortunately BHP – reporting record profits this year – seems ready to ignore the will of the people to push more workers onto John Howard’s harsh AWAs.
‘BHP is joining a list of “renegade employers’’ who wanted to extend the life of the former Howard government’s AWAs by bribing workers.
‘The community has voted for an end to the “WorkChoices’’ laws.
‘The Federal Government is committed to abolishing the AWAs by early next year. Despite that BHP is, right now, pushing people to sign five-year AWAs.’
In an interview with ABC TV’s Barrie Cassidy, Jeff Lawrence was asked about the ‘$30 million or so’ spent by the unions on advertising, as voters returned a Labour government.
‘I’m not sure about that figure, but there was a significant trade union spend, that’s true,’ Lawrence responded.
‘And the election was really important, because we think it meant the rejection of WorkChoices, I think that’s absolutely clear, and what we want to see now is fair industrial legislation put in place, and I’m confident that will happen.’
‘Was part of the dividend simply survival, because that in itself would have been an issue if the Coalition had won?’ Lawrence was asked.
But Lawrence said: ‘I don’t think that the trade union movement would not have survived, the trade union movement would have survived, but we do have an opportunity now, we’ve got an opportunity to build a fair society in Australia and we’ve got an opportunity to work with the government, and for that matter, to communicate with employers.
‘So there is a real opportunity to change our country for the better.’
Lawrence was asked: ‘What do you want from the government on WorkChoices?
‘If Kevin Rudd does no more than what he says he will do, is that okay by you?’
Lawrence said: ‘We have a policy, and it does have some differences to Labour.
‘We will continue to argue of course for our policy, but Labour has made its decision fairly clear, and I do believe that they have a mandate for that policy, and I’m sure they will proceed with it.
‘The legislation of course will contain all sorts of issues, and deal with all sorts of issues in detail.
‘So there will be a process of discussion with the government over the next six months or so.’
The ABC interview asked the ACTU’s leader ‘what’s the greatest irritant to you? What area would you like to see changed?’
Lawrence replied that: ‘It isn’t so much areas to be changed, I think there is a need to talk about the implementation of various issues, there are all sorts of matters that surround the key areas of policy where discussions are necessary.
‘The central issue for us, though, is the future of collective bargaining.
‘The question of collective bargaining and how it operates in Australia and its relationship with freedom of association, those two really key international rights, they’re the things that we’ll be talking about most during next year.’
Lawrence was also asked if ‘you’re satisfied you can do that within the framework that the government has spelt out?’
‘Absolutely, yes,’ he said. ‘One of the really central commitments that Labour has made is the whole system of good faith bargaining, the way in which Fair Work Australia will work in the implementation of that system, to help it actually operate.
‘So collective bargaining, freedom of association, are central parts of Labour’s policy, and will be central parts in the new system.’
But the ABC interviewer pointed out that ‘the two-stage process that (government minister) Julia Gillard has outlined’ was something ‘she didn’t outline until after the election, and of course the second stage doesn’t come into effect until 2010.’
‘Well the two-stage process was announced in August, when Labour announced its implementation plan,’ Lawrence said.
‘So we’ve known that was going to occur for some time, we knew that there would be a transition Bill.
‘Clearly, we want to make sure that both parts of that legislative package are in place as soon as possible; that’s a priority, and that’s what we’ll be working towards.’
Interviewer Cassidy also pointed out that ‘the restrictions on union rights to enter workplaces will stay, restrictions on strikes will stay’, and asked: ‘Are you comfortable with that?’
To which ACTU leader Lawrence replied: ‘We would like to see some discussion about some aspects of those policy areas.
‘As I say, there are lots of details to work through there, but we believe we can work with the government, we believe we can talk to employers to get a practical method of implementation in place.’
But ABC TV’s man said: ‘there is no formal relationship or formal dialogue put in place as yet. In fact, Kevin Rudd was asked about it in the Press Club, and he said he hadn’t given it any thought at all.’
But Lawrence insisted: ‘There will be, and there should be, I’m confident, a formal relationship.
‘The Australian Labour Advisory Council – ALAC – is actually part of the Labour Party’s rules and constitution, so there will be a process of consultation.
‘But there will also be consultation with employers, so we just need to work on that, there are lots of issues that will be dealt with in the next six months.’
‘But you’re not feeling a bit neglected,’ Lawrence was asked. ‘Julia Gillard has already spoken to the Australian Industry Group, and there is a consultation group in place to allow for dialogue between the government and business?’
The unions’ leader said: ‘No, we’re not feeling neglected. We’ll be there, we’ll be there expressing very strongly and very firmly our views and our values.’
Lawrence also told his interviewer: ‘I don’t expect anybody to look after the interest of unions, unions will look after their own interests, and we’ll be standing up for the things that we think are important.
‘. . . the role of trade unions has actually been recognised by the Australian people (at the elections).
‘Australian people know that unions have stood up (for) the interests of all Australian working families.’