The Federal Government has finalised and announced the members of groups tasked with overhauling Australia’s industrial relations system, to find ways to urgently regrow jobs lost as a result of COVID-19.
There will be five industrial relations working groups, each comprising 10 full-time members, being five representing employers, and five representing employees.
The working groups will tackle known problems within the IR system that the Morrison Government believes are “holding back Australia’s economic recovery” in the wake of 600,000 people becoming unemployed in recent months.
“On top of those who’ve lost their jobs, there are millions more who have seen their work hours and pay-packets reduced due to COVID-19, and we owe it to them to work cooperatively through this process to deliver solutions that will get our country working again,” offered Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Christian Porter.
The five aspects of IR the working groups will address are:
- Casuals and fixed-term employees
- Award simplification – covering Awards in heavily-impacted industry sectors
- Enterprise agreements
- Compliance & Enforcement
- Greenfield agreements for new enterprises
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has been appointed as a member of two groups: Award Simplification, represented by National CEO Stephen Ferguson, and Compliance & Enforcement, to be managed by AHA director of legal and industrial affairs, Philip Ryan.
The Association has a strong track record of representing employers in matters relating to the Hospitality Award, most recently working collaboratively with the United Workers Union (UWU) during the crisis to alter the Award to increase flexibility for employers and employees, and bring about a “flexible part-time” provision designed to transition casuals to more secure part-time employment.
“The Federal Government knows we have a proven ability to negotiate fair and reasonable with all stakeholders,” notes Ferguson.
“With much of our industry’s workforce employed under the Hospitality Award, the AHA is heavily invested in ensuring we get this right, for the long-term benefit of employers, employees and the broader economy.”
All five groups will begin meetings toward the end of June, and the attorney-general will chair the first round at each, assisted by deputy chair and fellow West Australian Tim Marney.
Third-party organisations and individuals – to be determined by agreement of the 10 primary members of each working group – will be invited to deliver presentations or advise the groups, for the purpose of including expert experience and real-world perspectives.
Ferguson says the AHA is eager to be an active part of such an important initiative.
“On behalf of our membership and the more than 1,000,000 people working in the hospitality and tourism industry, we welcome the opportunity to contribute to a process that may deliver the most meaningful reform in decades.”
ALL GROUPS & MEMBERS
Group 1 – Casuals
Representing employers: Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Ai Group, Council of Small Business Associations of Australia (COSBOA), Australian Retailers Association (ARA), Australian Higher Education Industrial Association.
Representing workers: Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), United Workers Union (UWU), Health Services Union (HSU).
Group 2 – Award Simplification
Representing employers: ACCI, Ai Group, COSBOA, Australian Hotels Association (AHA), National Retail Association (NRA).
Representing workers: ACTU (2 reps), UWU, Australian Workers Union (AWU), Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).
Group 3 – Enterprise Agreement Making
Representing employers: ACCI, Ai Group, AMMA Australian Resources and Energy Group, Business Council of Australia (BCA), Master Builders Australia (MBA).
Representing workers: ACTU, SDA, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), Transport Workers Union (TWU), Electrical Trades Union (ETU).
Group 4 – Compliance and Enforcement
Representing employers: ACCI, Ai Group, National Farmers Federation (NFF), COSBOA, AHA.
Representing workers: ACTU (2 reps), Finance Sector Union (FSU), Australian Services Union (ASU), Independent Education Union (IEU).
Group 5 – Greenfields Agreements
Representing employers: ACCI, AMMA, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), Australian Constructors Association (ACA), MBA.
Representing workers: ACTU, Construction Forestry Mining Maritime and Energy Union (CFMMEU), AWU, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), ETU.
