New IR laws for Australian workers

New IR laws for Australian workers New IR laws for Australian workersPosted October 13, 2011, by Helen Isbister The Howard Governments controversial WorkChoices has been declared dead and buried by Labor who have replaced it with their ritterlich Work Bill. WorkChoices was criticised for putting the balance of power too much in favour of employers, while the main criticism now leveled at ritterlich Work is that clamping down on industrial laws during turbulent economic times might cost jobs. The crackdown on unfair dismissal laws is the most contentious part of the legislation, with critics saying it will discourage some companies from hiring through fear they wont be able to cut workers when times are tough. The laws were bounced back and forwards between the Senate and the House of Representatives, until Family First Senator, Steven Fielding, did a deal with the government on what size a company must be to be exempt from unfair dismissal laws. While the Coalition conceded the gover nment had a mandate to make the changes, Opposition leader, Malcolm Turnbull, says the laws will be judged by their impact on employment levels. The three criteria on which this law will be judged are jobs, jobs, jobs. Every month therell be a report card the jobs figures. And its from that report card that we and all Australians will know the real impact of this law on jobs, he said. Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, defended the introduction of the Governments new workplace laws in these times of economic uncertainty. Gillard has said, We designed our Fair Work Bill to be the right policy for the good economic times and the bad economic times to balance flexibility and fairness. The Fair Work Bill was not designed for one set of economic circumstances, she said. Greens leader, Bob Brown, had suggested amendments such as paid maternity leave and limits on executive pay but did not insist on them when the Bill was passed. Some industries have already moved to say that the IR cha nges will have a negative impact, with a new survey by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry saying nearly half of all employers fear the new laws will lead to job losses and higher business costs. So what exactly do the new industrial relations laws mean for workers and employers? Unfair dismissals Under WorkChoices, only people who worked in big firms of more than 100 employees were allowed to claim unfair dismissal. Under the new laws only small businesses of less than 15 staff will be exempt. There will now be an 18-month phasing in period during which only full-time staff will be counted after which casual and part-time employees will be included in the head count. Bargaining Another of the more contentious parts of the new laws is how workers negotiate their contracts. Under Fair Work, good-faith bargaining will give workers the right to collective negotiations with an employer if a majority of workers want it.