General

Australian Workplace Agreements

$20m grant for big business

The Sydney Morning Herald is today reporting on key industry and employer organisations receiving more than $20 million from the Federal Government to educate their members about the industrial relations laws.
To comment go to http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/business-got-20m-for-ir-support/2007/04/11/1175971183185.html

The assistance has bolstered sentiment within the Government that these groups, most of which lobbied for the laws, should fight for them at this year's election by running advertisements supporting Work Choices.

Figures compiled by the Herald show that about 40 groups received $20.7 million from the Government to assist their members in understanding the laws and implementing them. Another $4 million has been earmarked but not yet handed out.

The Australian Industry Group has received $2.6 million so far and the National Retail Association $354,000.

The Government wants the organisations to use their own money to pay for advertisements supporting Work Choices, given their internal training and education programs were paid for by the Government's Employment Adviser Campaign.

Two of the largest employer organisations, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia, have not received any Government money but are believed to be contemplating running an advertising campaign closer to the election.

With industrial relations shaping as the centrepiece of the election, the Prime Minister, John Howard, last week called on business to help combat a well-funded union and Labor Party campaign against his Work Choices legislation.

"Everybody who believes in the value of Work Choices should be willing to fight for the preservation of Work Choices," he said.

Mr Howard was publicly rebuffed by the Australian Industry Group and the National Retail Association, both of which expressed a reluctance to become too political.

But with Labor planning to abolish the laws if elected, the Government believes business and industry have a vested interest, especially as they lobbied hard for the laws.

There is growing resentment within senior levels of the Government that these groups were not doing enough to promote Work Choices.

"If we go down, these laws are going back a long way. This has massive implications for them," one source said.

But Patrick McKendry, the chief executive of the National Retail Association, said groups such as his had survived for 80 years by staying out of partisan politics at a state and federal level.

"We are supportive of these laws but they do not fall into that exceptional category where we would use members' funds to politically advertise," he said. "That won't stop us publicly and privately supporting these laws."

Heather Ridout, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, concurred.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry released a survey yesterday which found that 87 per cent of employers opposed the abolition of Australian workplace agreements, which Labor has promised if it wins power.

Peter Hendy, the chamber's chief executive, would not rule out an advertising campaign supporting Work Choices but said there were "no plans at this stage".

"We're not scared of expressing a view about a policy issue," Mr Hendy said.

"We don't advocate a vote for either side of politics but we strongly campaign on what we think are important issues."

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

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20070412_business.html
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2007