Michaelia Cash: Coalition will consult when tackling industrial relations
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Version 0 of 1. The government is not shirking a fight over the politically sensitive issue of industrial relations after a Productivity Commission report that recommended controversial changes to the way the system works, the employment minister has said. Michaelia Cash has not publicly backed any of the recommendations, saying instead that the government would engage in a public consultation process. Related: The hidden nasties of the Productivity Commission review (and some gems) | Paul Karp She rejected suggestions the government was being timid in tackling the issue, after ill-received changes in the WorkChoices policy helped bring down the Howard government in 2007. “I can assure you we are not ducking a fight on industrial relations,” Cash told ABC Radio on Tuesday. “This government will be taking an IR [industrial relations] policy or a workplace policy to the next election, and as we’ve always said the policy will be presented to the Australian people and they will have an opportunity to vote on that.” The government would seek a mandate before legislating changes to the existing workplace relations system. The Productivity Commission report made a number of recommendations, including the reducing Sunday penalty rates for workers in certain sectors so that their pay is in line with Saturday rates. Related: Workers' Sunday penalty rates should be cut, says Productivity Commission Labor has ruled out supporting that, and also the formation of so-called enterprise contracts which allow for collective agreements that change certain award conditions. “Whilst I’m not sure we agree with the architecture of the enterprise contract, I do think we need to look at vehicles that do improve opportunities for small businesses to use instruments, or industrial instruments, in order to ensure they get good outcomes,” Labor’s employment spokesman, Brendan O’Connor, told Sky News. Labor was open to looking at some of the report’s suggestions. Under the recommendations, Fair Work commissioners would be limited to a 10-year term, and would be appointed by the employment minister from a shortlist compiled by an expert panel. Commissioners would also be forced to comply with performance standards and the Fair Work commission’s code of conduct. The recommendations come as vice president of the commission, Michael Lawler, is being investigated for taking nine months of paid sick leave while assisting his partner Kathy Jackson in a civil lawsuit against the health services union (HSU). That independent investigation will report back to the government early next year, Cash said. Liberal MP Angus Taylor said the overhaul of the way commissioners were appointed was worth considering. “All the governance arrangements around the Fair Work commission, the recommendation to establish a separate workplace standards commission, the arrangements around the tenure for the commissioners, and the performance reviews of the commissioners are all extremely important recommendations,” he told Sky News. |