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 Home Campaigns Your Rights At Work News
Penalties, meal breaks and public holidays up for grabs18 October 2005New work laws will not include protections for key conditions that healthworkers rely on such as penalty rates, allowances and meal breaks. The WorkChoices package, announced on Sunday, by the Prime Minister John Howard, fails to protect these entitlements. Instead they will be up for grabs in any negotiation with an employer. HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said that only two months ago Mr Howard had described the prospect of public holidays not being protected as "absolute nonsense". "Under the current system staff working in health rely on penalty rates, meal breaks and a range of shift allowances and loadings and extra pay for working public holidays to allow them a decent rate of pay," Mr Thomson said. "But that will all change under WorkChoices. "Under this system new agreements only have to include five of the most basic conditions: a minimum rate of pay, four weeks annual leave, one year unpaid parental leave, sick/personal leave and a 38 hour week. "Everything else is going to be up for grabs. It will only be people who work in an area where there is a strong union who are going to be able to have the bargaining power to retain these conditions. "In other workplaces employers will simply refuse to include them and that means take home pay rates could fall dramatically." Contact Details Health Services Union of Australia hsu@hsu.net.au |
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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
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