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What the parties are promising in the 2004 Federal Election: Work and Family
14 July 2004
Your guide to the policies of Labor and the government on work and family issues.
Australian Workplace Agreements
Labor
- Abolish AWA's (individual non-union contracts). Employees will retain the right to negotiate common law agreements, but unlike AWAs these cannot be used to undercut award conditions.
Liberal/National
- Retain AWA's as core part of workplace relations strategy.
Casuals and Working Parents
Labor
- Legislate to ensure the Australian Industrial Relations Commission takes into account job security and the need to prevent the misuse of casual employment.
- Legislate to ensure the Australian Industrial Relations Commission takes into account the need to find a better work and family balance and will support parents who want to return to work on a part-time basis after taking parental leave.
Liberal/National
Awards and Agreements
Labor
- Greater emphasis on the award system. Extension of the matters that can be included in awards including:
- Part-time work for returning parents
- Unfair dismissal protection
- Fourteen weeks paid maternity leave
- Incentives for greater use of career breaks, shorter working hours.
Liberal/National
- No commitments in this area.
Employee Entitlements and Workers Rights
Labor
- Protect 100 per cent of employee entitlements in the event of an employer going broke.
- Uniform minimum standards of compensation and other rights for injured workers
- $40 million commitment to boost and the capacity of the federal wages information and compliance services to investigate underpayments of wages.
Liberal/National
- Strengthen the powers of the Building Industry Taskforce to gather information and evidence from witnesses
- Tripling all penalties in the Workplace Relations Act 1996
- Disqualify officials from holding office in a registered organisation if they are convicted of a criminal offence and receive a suspended sentence.
- Whistleblower protection for employees of registered organisations.
- Secret ballots of members of registered organisations when electing delegates to a political party's decision making body.
- Stop small businesses with fewer than 15 employees from having to make redundancy payments to employees.
Employment Advocate and Building Industry Taskforce
Labor
- Abolish. Building Industry Taskforce replaced by a tripartite building industry council.
Liberal/National
- Retain as an industry watchdogs.
Maternity payments
Labor
- Baby Care Payment.Worth $3000 in 2005 and rising to $5,380 by 2010. The payment will be tax-free from July 1, 2005 and available to 90 per cent of new mothers who are either working or at home. Paid only in instalments not lump sum.
- Family payments to be announced.
Liberal/National
- Extra $600 a child for people receiving the Family Tax Benefit Part A after July 1, 2004.
- Extra $600 per child for people receiving the Family Tax Benefit Part A from September 2004.
- New maternity payment of $3000 per child from July 1, 2004. Increases to $4000 from July 1, 2006 and to $5000 from July 1, 2008. Not means-tested. Available in lump sum.
Contact Details
Health Services Union of Australia
hsu@hsu.net.au
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