Australian Workplace Agreements

PM wrong about job creation

By ACTU

A major new survey of Australian businesses contradicts the Prime Minister's claim that removing protection from unfair dismissal for employees in companies with less than 100 staff will create significantly more jobs.

The July 2005 D&B National Business Expectations Survey released today reveals that 81% of businesses believe the Federal Government's proposed changes to unfair dismissal laws will have no impact on their intentions to employ more staff and a further 2% state they are not likely to employ more staff as a result of the proposed changes.i

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"These survey results add to the already significant body of evidence showing that the Federal Government's claim that abolishing unfair dismissal protections for Australian workers is important to the economy and will create jobs is nothing but hollow propaganda.

"The Government's proposed changes to unfair dismissal laws won't create more jobs but it will create job insecurity for Australian working families.

"John Howard's unfair dismissal plan would leave more than 3.6 million Australians without any protection from unfair dismissal. This will hurt job security and harm families.

"The Government's changes to workplace laws are a backward step for working Australians at a time when many families are already struggling just to keep their heads above water."

The Federal Government has consistently claimed that its proposals to abolish unfair dismissal protections for Australian workers will create between 55,000 and 77,000 jobs. But just last month an inquiry by the Senate Committee for Employment, Workplace Relations and Education found that there was no evidence of a causal link between unfair dismissal laws and jobs growth.

A Full Court of the Australian Federal Court has also found that 'there is no basis for us to conclude that unfair dismissal laws make any difference to employers' decisions about recruiting labour. ' ii

Sharan Burrow said, "The Prime Minister says that his industrial relations changes are in the national interest. But how can it be in the national interest if it hurts working families and makes them less secure."

Notes
i - July 2005 D&B National Business Expectations Survey of 1,200 business owners and senior executives representing majority industry sectors across Australia ii - Hamzy v Tricon International Restaurants trading as KFC [2001] FCA 1589 (16 November 2001)

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20050712_jobs.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005