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Spotlight decision shows IR laws are bad for workers and bad for business
A decision by major retailer Spotlight to abandon the use of AWA individual contracts confirms the Howard Government’s WorkChoices IR laws are bad for both workers and businesses says the ACTU.
Spotlight has said it will abandon the use of AWA individual contracts after it was found they would leave 460 of its staff worse off through the loss of penalty rates.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said today:
“This decision by Spotlight to give up on the Liberals’ unfair AWAs confirms they are bad for workers and are also bad for businesses.
“They are demonstrably bad for the 460 workers at Spotlight that lost their penalty rates and had their take home pay cut under the company’s recent attempt to introduce unfair AWAs.
“Spotlight management has also confirmed that they find AWAs inefficient and bad for their business as a national retailer.
“There are around 110,000 workers still waiting for their AWA individual contracts to be checked to see if they are fair.
“This massive backlog means there is no doubt we will see emerge in the coming months thousands more workers like those at Spotlight who have suffered unfair cuts to their pay and conditions under the Howard Government’s IR laws.
“Unions are also concerned this case could add to pressure on the Howard Government to dump the ‘Fairness test’ after the election in order to salvage support for AWA individual contracts among employers.
“John Howard, Peter Costello and other senior Coalition figures are already on the record as saying they intend to go further on industrial relations reform.
“In fact, Peter Costello refused to rule out getting rid of the ‘Fairness test’ in an interview with Laurie Oakes on the Channel 9 Sunday Program 6/5/07:
LAURIE OAKES: Now if the Government survives this election, it's widely assumed that John Howard will step down in the next term, I assume you expect that as well. Do you guarantee if that happens that a Costello Government would not repeal or water down the fairness test the Prime Minister introduced?
PETER COSTELLO: Well I'm not going to speculate on what might happen after the election…
“This move by Spotlight shows they could be forced to amend or axe the ‘Fairness test’ after the election to make AWAs more attractive to major employers,“ said Ms Burrow.
ACTU Media Release
18 September 2007
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