Industrial Relations

Employer group asks Govt to cut pay

An 'Award Review Taskforce' set up by the Howard Government under its new industrial relations laws is examining a new proposal to cut Award rates of pay for hundreds of thousands of skilled Australian workers the ACTU said today.

A submission to the Award Review Taskforce released to the public yesterday by peak business group the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) urges the Government to get rid of all existing Award classification levels and pay rates and replace them with just four minimum rates of pay.

The ACTU is concerned that if the Government agrees to the proposal, Award rates of pay for 800,000 skilled Australian workers would be cut and some highly skilled workers could be more than $400 a week worse off.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"The ACCI is proposing to strip 800,000 skilled Australian workers of their right to Award rates of pay that recognise the skills, responsibilities and qualifications they use at work every day.

Skilled workers in thousands of jobs could all have their Award pay rates cut if the Government agrees to the ACCI plan, including:

Emergency nurses; experienced chefs; community workers; high level trades people; team leaders; bar managers; professional public servants; emergency service workers; experienced teachers; leading hands and shift supervisors; as well as engineers, chemists; IT workers, scientists and lab technicians.

"This proposal would deny workers the right to Award rates of pay that properly reflect their skills, experience and qualifications and would deskill the Australian workforce.

"Under the current award classification system workers are paid at one of 14 pay and skill levels based on their skills, experience, qualifications and responsibilities.

"The ACCI proposal would deny workers the right to higher rates of pay as their skills and responsibilities increase and effectively remove career paths from Australia's Award system.

"This is not only grossly unfair but would encourage the de-skilling of the Australian workforce at a time of chronic skill shortages.

All State and Federal Government's are scheduled to meet later this week at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to discuss strategies to address the national skills crisis.

The ACCI proposal is completely at odds with the national interest and the Government's stated aim of encouraging Australian workers to improve their skills and boost Australia's productive capacity.

The ACTU calls on the Federal Government to reject the ACCI proposal outright," said Ms Burrow.

The Award Review Taskforce is due to give its recommendations next month.

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

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20060209_employer.html
Last Modified: 09 Feb 2006