News Room Archive
Workplace Relations Reform
Coverage of the BCA’s response to the workplace relations policy announcements made by federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd.
18 April 2007
Business Council of Australia president Michael Chaney said Mr Rudd’s new policy on unfair dismissals “seemed to be an unfortunate compromise”. “It seems to be introducing random time dates that could exacerbate the situation against the interests of employees. We still have in our legislation unlawful termination provisions whereby an employee can take action if they’ve been unlawfully terminated. The problem with unfair dismissal laws was that they were a huge disincentive to employment”.
From ‘Rudd’s Pitch Fails Business Test’ by Laura Tingle & David Crowe, The Australian Financial Review, 18 April 2007, p. 1.
BCA president Michael Chaney said Labour should leave the federal government’s Work Choices regime in place because it had removed the disincentive to employ people. “The facts speak for themselves. In the last year we’ve had over 200,000 new jobs in Australia and growth in real wages, and it’s the opposite of the unions’ scare campaign message.”
‘ “Compromise” Policy Fails to Do the Job’ by Angus Grigg & Joanne Gray, The Australian Financial Review, 18 April 2007, p. 10.
‘Don’t Turn Back Clock on IR Warns Business’ by Shane Wright, Ben Martin & Phillip Coorey, The West Australian, 18 April 2007, p. 1.
Business Council of Australia president Michael Chaney said the ALP’s strike limits were positive, but warned its plans to reinstate unfair dismissal laws would be damaging. “The unfair dismissal laws as they existed before WorkChoices cost a lot of jobs, and any reinstatement, even in a watered-down form, will cost jobs,” he told The Age.
‘Rudd Attacks Right to Strike’ by Misha Schubert, Ben Doherty & Dewi Cooke, The Age, 18 April 2007, p. 1.
Business Council of Australia president Michael Chaney warned against reversing the reform of the industrial landscape which has occurred under the Howard Government, which he said was responsible for low unemployment and productivity improvements. “You cannot support productivity growth in the 21st century while turning back the clock to a 1990s or 1980s workplace relations system,” he said.