❓ Mr. Logan questions the Minister for Commerce regarding protections for public sector workers during the Amendola review, specifically concerning Work Choices-style contracts and erosion of standards. Mr. Buswell guarantees access to the WAIRC and states no plans to introduce individual contracts or assign powers to the Commonwealth, while acknowledging the need to modernise the WA Industrial Relations Act.
AnsweredQoN 821Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS REVIEW
I ask a supplementary question. Obviously the minister will not give a guarantee to the private sector on the question I put to him. Will the minister give a guarantee to the 120 000 public sector workers that they will not face Work Choices-style individual contracts or have their minimum standards or awards eroded by any recommendations coming out of the Amendola review, that they will also be able to access the WAIRC and that their unfair dismissal rights will be maintained? Mr T.R. BUSWELL
I ask a supplementary question. Obviously the minister will not give a guarantee to the private sector on the question I put to him. Will the minister give a guarantee to the 120 000 public sector workers that they will not face Work Choices-style individual contracts or have their minimum standards or awards eroded by any recommendations coming out of the Amendola review, that they will also be able to access the WAIRC and that their unfair dismissal rights will be maintained? Mr T.R. BUSWELL
AnswerView source ↗
I can certainly give a guarantee that WA public sector workers will have access to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. The negotiating framework that exists within the current act as it pertains to public sector workers is quite good. I am getting a bit of practice at it at the moment with the member’s soon to be friend, Mr Kelly. I do not see a major problem with that framework. The government has no plans to extend the use of the existing employer-employee agreement, which was brought in by the member for Balcatta and sits in the act. We have no plans to introduce those contracts for public sector workers. We are comfortable with the IR framework by which state public sector workers are employed. I am pretty sure that I have had some of those discussions with members of the union movement. We have given an undertaking not to assign our powers to the commonwealth. No-one in this house who reads the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act—it is a riveting read—would argue that it does not need to be changed and modernised. It stacks up very poorly against some of the changes that the commonwealth has recently introduced. We have a lot of work to do and we are committed to doing that.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL replied: I can certainly give a guarantee that WA public sector workers will have access to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. The negotiating framework that exists within the current act as it pertains to public sector workers is quite good. I am getting a bit of practice at it at the moment with the member’s soon to be friend, Mr Kelly. I do not see a major problem with that framework. The government has no plans to extend the use of the existing employer-employee agreement, which was brought in by the member for Balcatta and sits in the act. We have no plans to introduce those contracts for public sector workers. We are comfortable with the IR framework by which state public sector workers are employed. I am pretty sure that I have had some of those discussions with members of the union movement. We have given an undertaking not to assign our powers to the commonwealth. No-one in this house who reads the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act—it is a riveting read—would argue that it does not need to be changed and modernised. It stacks up very poorly against some of the changes that the commonwealth has recently introduced. We have a lot of work to do and we are committed to doing that.
I can certainly give a guarantee that WA public sector workers will have access to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. The negotiating framework that exists within the current act as it pertains to public sector workers is quite good. I am getting a bit of practice at it at the moment with the member’s soon to be friend, Mr Kelly. I do not see a major problem with that framework. The government has no plans to extend the use of the existing employer-employee agreement, which was brought in by the member for Balcatta and sits in the act. We have no plans to introduce those contracts for public sector workers. We are comfortable with the IR framework by which state public sector workers are employed. I am pretty sure that I have had some of those discussions with members of the union movement. We have given an undertaking not to assign our powers to the commonwealth. No-one in this house who reads the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act—it is a riveting read—would argue that it does not need to be changed and modernised. It stacks up very poorly against some of the changes that the commonwealth has recently introduced. We have a lot of work to do and we are committed to doing that.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL replied: I can certainly give a guarantee that WA public sector workers will have access to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. The negotiating framework that exists within the current act as it pertains to public sector workers is quite good. I am getting a bit of practice at it at the moment with the member’s soon to be friend, Mr Kelly. I do not see a major problem with that framework. The government has no plans to extend the use of the existing employer-employee agreement, which was brought in by the member for Balcatta and sits in the act. We have no plans to introduce those contracts for public sector workers. We are comfortable with the IR framework by which state public sector workers are employed. I am pretty sure that I have had some of those discussions with members of the union movement. We have given an undertaking not to assign our powers to the commonwealth. No-one in this house who reads the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act—it is a riveting read—would argue that it does not need to be changed and modernised. It stacks up very poorly against some of the changes that the commonwealth has recently introduced. We have a lot of work to do and we are committed to doing that.
I can certainly give a guarantee that WA public sector workers will have access to the WA Industrial Relations Commission. The negotiating framework that exists within the current act as it pertains to public sector workers is quite good. I am getting a bit of practice at it at the moment with the member’s soon to be friend, Mr Kelly. I do not see a major problem with that framework. The government has no plans to extend the use of the existing employer-employee agreement, which was brought in by the member for Balcatta and sits in the act. We have no plans to introduce those contracts for public sector workers. We are comfortable with the IR framework by which state public sector workers are employed. I am pretty sure that I have had some of those discussions with members of the union movement. We have given an undertaking not to assign our powers to the commonwealth. No-one in this house who reads the Western Australian Industrial Relations Act—it is a riveting read—would argue that it does not need to be changed and modernised. It stacks up very poorly against some of the changes that the commonwealth has recently introduced. We have a lot of work to do and we are committed to doing that.
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