General

Trade Union movement

Voters now have a clear choice: ACTU

Working families now have a clear choice about the future direction of industrial relations in Australia following the release of Labor's industrial relations policy, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"The industrial relations policy announced by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard today will give great hope to working families because it means that under a Labor Government basic rights at work will be protected.

"Unions will not be happy with everything that Labor announced today. But this policy will ensure is that if a Labor Government is elected, John Howard's unfair IR laws will be ripped up, and replaced with a balanced system for the future that delivers a strong economy and fair workplaces.

"The policy announced today commits a Labor Government to:

Ensure workers are protected from unfair dismissal;

Guarantee that penalty rates, overtime pay, retrenchment pay and public holidays, which are being stripped away under the Howard Government's IR laws, are protected in the safety net;

Establish a new and independent industrial umpire to maintain fairness in the workplace and set decent minimum wages and conditions for Australians workers;

Set up a national IR system for the private sector;

Get rid of the Howard Government's AWA individual contracts and provide workers with a right to bargain collectively where that is what a majority of employees in a workplace want; and

Provide new rights for working parents and families to assist them balance their work and caring responsibilities - for the first time all parents of pre-school children will have the right to request more flexible working hours," said Ms Burrow.

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said:

"Labor's IR policy will give working families a very clear choice at the Federal election. There is a clear difference between the major parties - one is about protecting the rights of working families and one is about taking them away", Mr Combet said.

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

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20070430_actu.html
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2007