Restoring the Rights of Workers - Essay Example

?‘Labor’s reforms are about restoring the rights of workers, not the power of unions.’ Introduction: Australia has seen a series of labour reform laws aimed at uplifting the Australian economy. The previous law Work Choices Act almost crippled a major section of the economy largely affecting the labour unions but caused irreparable damage to the workers. Thus, as a reform measure, the new Labor government headed by Rudd and Guillard, introduced the Fair Work Act, which restored the rights of the workers and entrusted more power and regulations which were more favourable to them rather than to the employers or the labour unions. It offered them the right to negotiate with the employers, the right to collective bargaining, and allowed for paid parental leaves. Furthermore as a part of reforms, the Rudd government abolished various laws which were detrimental for the workers, such as the Australian Workplace Agreements, which was introduced to restore the workers rights by protecting them against their unfair dismissal by the employers, introduced a new system of awards, ensured its compliance through setting up of appropriate bodies, and appointed an independent workplace monitor, with the responsibility of ensuring fair workplace practices. Furthermore, it also allowed the workers the right to join unions. Thus, the phrase “Labor’s reforms are about restoring the rights of workers, not the power unions”. Labor’s reforms: The various laws pertaining to federal employment and labour reforms in Australia have been subject to a series of hot debates and controversies, over the last decade. Historically, laws relating to labour reforms and aimed at protection and safeguarding of labour rights have formed a strong basis for fostering political success and have been a major contributor to the emergence of grass root activism movements within Australia. Similar laws aimed at fuelling wide spread labour reforms were enacted and implement in Australia by the Labor party under the Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard government, during the 2007 election. These laws were aimed at developing and enhancing industrial relations through the Forward with Fairness policy. This new policy was developed in response to the sharp criticism received by the previous act i.e. the Work Choices legislation which was received with fierce opposition mostly from the unions, as well as from the workers, who were greatly disadvantaged on account of certain terms and conditions included therein (Work Choices Act, 2005). The new policy / laws were proposed in order to counter the existing law (i.e. the Work Choices) and the purpose of this new proposed set of laws as announced by the Labour government was to overcome the drawbacks of the previous law, which would be completely dropped and modified (Stewart, 2009: 33-40). While developing the Fair Work Act, 2009 the Rudd- Gillard Labor government endorsed this new legislation as a marked departure from the previous law, which was aimed at ensuring workers’ rights and was described as a relatively more accountable and balanced law, developed taking into consideration the interests of both the employees as well as employers. It was further claimed that the act is likely to bring about the much desired economic development through increased productivity and further the national objectives (Spoehr, 2009: 311-313). The Fair Work Bill was first introduced in the year 2008 and presented in the House of Representatives in November 2008. After a thorough inspection and deliberation over the same, it was finally passed in the senate with a couple of amendments and was then approved by the Governor General in the following months, in April 2009. The new bill (i.e. the Fair Work Bill) was viewed as a major milestone in the history of labour reforms, as it targeted the workers’ rights, more than the rights of the unions, and it sought to bring about major changes which were never witnessed ever before in the entire Australian history. It was seen as a welcome change as compared to the regressive Work Choices act, which pushed back the state of industrial reforms to unacceptable limits and disrupted the framework of labour unions (Forsyth, Stewart, 2009: 8-12). The Fair Work Act on the other hand, brought about several positive changes. Some of the key objectives of the Fair Work act are listed below (Gollan, 2009: 260-9): providing workplace relations laws that are fair to employees and flexible to employers, and promote productivity and economic growth; ensuring a guaranteed minimum safety net of fair, relevant and enforceable wages and conditions; ensuring that the guaranteed minimum safety net cannot be undermined assisting in balancing work and family responsibilities; enabling fairness and representation at work, prevention of discrimination, freedom of association, right to be represented and protecting against unfair treatment; and Achieving productivity and fairness through an emphasis on enterprise level collective bargaining underpinned by simple good faith bargaining obligations. The Fair Work Act is applicable to employers across the Commonwealth in all workplaces, and includes all employers within the Australian territories, employers of maritime including waterside workers, flight crew, and constitutional corporations – such as a limited company, a proprietary limited company or an incorporate association (CCH editors, 2009: 79-81). Analysis: Labour reforms as mentioned in the earlier sections of this paper, have historically played a key role in strengthening the rights of the workers and employees and ultimately contributed in bringing about significant transformations in the nation’s economy by way of increased productivity. However as a part of labour reforms a series of actions in the form of policies, were declared by the conservative coalition government in Australia, which were largely perceived to be anti-union in nature, and apparently faced strong negative reactions from the group. Owing to such strong negative criticism and appeals for reversing the law, the new Labor government headed by Rudd and Gillard, introduced a new law (i.e. the Fair work act) by completely abolishing the previous anti-union act (the Work Choices Act). These anti-union legislations were opposed mainly for the strong laws which tend to cripple the power of the unions as well as the workers, and hence the new laws were developed specially to restore the workers’ rights, although the work choices act significantly disrupted the environment in Australian workplaces. The work choice law introduced various changes which were proposed under the labour reforms policies, these included widening the scope of influence and control of the Federal government by placing substantial restrictions pertaining to the industrial relations, and by limiting the powers of the corporations which operated within the Australian territories. These new laws helped the federal government in governing the employment relationships in a better manner, and take away some of the powers of the state government, and the laws pertaining to collective bargaining and rights of the labour unions (Stewart, Williams, 2007: 38-42). The laws were aimed at building a foundation for Australian workplace whereby the individuals’ employees and employers could interact with each other without the interference of the labour unions, and the negotiations between the employees and employers, however, were largely subject to various restrictions and exceptions which were more in the favour of the employees, largely alienating the employees. This enraged the labour unions, as the workers’ rights were largely being compromised and there were hardly any options available for respite (Balnave, 2007: 130). Furthermore the labour unions had very little alternatives to challenge the actions of the employers who wished to avoid collective bargaining or negotiations, or face the labour unions. The workers choices act also eliminated the ‘no disadvantage test’ from AWAs thus further encouraging the employers to involve their employees on sub-award conditions. It delegated more control to the employers who were now free to terminate the contracts with their employees for reasons which they believed to be genuine. Furthermore it also gave the employers complete exemption from claims of unfair practices, levied on them by the employees. This rule however, was applicable for all organizations which had less 100 employees. Thus further crippling the workers and preventing them from seeking their rights to bring their employers to book for their unlawful actions taken against them by their employers, if the enterprise was relatively small i.e. with 100 or less employees (Forsyth, Stewart, 2009: 8-12; NA, 2008: 121-125). The segment of the industry who was hit the hardest by the Work Choices Act was the trade unions. They were completely stripped of their right to seek legal action against the employers, as the new procedure entailed more time and higher costs for filing a complaint. Over and above such negative consequences for the workers and labour unions, the new act, further sought to empower the employers by delegating them the right to end protected action by the unions. Also, the right of the unions, to enter workplaces for investigating complaints filed by the workers or employees, was subject to newer and stricter restrictions. Under the new act they were now restricted to communicate with the members as a part of their process of investigation. This proved to be another major setback for the workers. Most of all, although the new act seemed to be apparently against the labour unions, it was in fact, a blow more to the workers, rather than to the labour unions (Stewart, Williams, 2007: 33-40). Also, there were new and added restrictions on the capacity of the tribunals of accepting the number of cases, and settling disputes. All such regressive and highly autocratic rules fuelled more criticism and sparked off a revolution lead by the labour unions under the Your Rights at Work campaign, sought to reverse the new law and restore more rights to the workers. As a reaction to the strong opposition and criticism of the Work Choices Act, a new act under the Rudd-Guillard Labor government titled the Fair Work Act was introduced and brought into effect on January 2009 right in the midst of the global financial crisis (Muir, 2009: 80-5). However, despite the strong opposition for the previous law enacted and implemented by the previous Conservative government, and large public outcry regarding the loss of workers rights the Labor government which initially had intended to undo the damage caused, but failed to do so. Rather than bringing about radical changes to protect the worker’s rights the Labor government’s industrial reforms initiatives proved to be rather moderate, which was a deliberate step on the part of the government in order to prevent the economic progress of the country from stagnating. However, the labour government introduced some major financial stimulus – a move which was received with greater appreciation and proved to be highly successful for the Australian economy as it succeeded in avoiding the harsh negative effects of the global financial crisis. The key elements of the Fair work act which helped the government in surviving the worst global economic meltdown in recent years, could be listed as below (CCH editors, 2009: 79-81; Riley, Sheldon, 2008: 62-5): The FWA (Fair Work Australia) was introduced as a new industrial reform laws, which sought to regulate the workplace relations. The FWA took on the responsibility which were akin to those of the labour market bodies, for instance, like the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, and other similar organizations which were set up by the previous Conservative government (Riley, Sheldon, 2008: 62-5). This body comprised of a panel which was entrusted with the responsibility to periodically review the wage levels in the economy and ensure that they were in sync with the new Australian Fair Pay regulations introduced by the Labor government. New nationwide standards for employment were introduced under the National Employment Standards (NES) scheme which were enacted by the parliament and comprised of various minimum standards which included the floor and safety net applicable at all workplaces to all employees working within Australian territories. The Fair Work System introduced by the Labor government, is centered on restoring workers rights through establishment and introduction of the right to collective bargaining at the enterprise level. Usually, i.e. in the absence of such an agreement, the understanding between the employer and employee is arrived at through negotiations or communication between either all the employees and the employer or a select group of employee representatives and the employer. There is no requirement or law which requires a formal notification of the agreement arrived at between the two parties, and in most cases, the two parties, may arrive at a common consensus with a view to create an enterprise agreement. In cases or situations where the employers refuses to participate and there is no previous agreement, any representative from the employees may approach Fair Work Australia to ascertain whether there is a majority agreement to support the negotiation sought by that particular employee, and whether the support is effective enough to strike an enterprise agreement. And if the Fair Work Australia announces that there is indeed a majority support, the employer will then be obligated to bargain collectively with the employees. Furthermore, no differentiation is made between agreements arrived at through unions or non-unions, under the new Fair Work system. The employees are free to nominate any member from among themselves who will then go on to represent them while negotiating with the employer and the employer will be bound to respect the decision of the employees. The new law also entrusts the employers with a duty to notify their employees regarding such a right to representation. In case of employees who are associated with or represented by unions, will be automatically represented by their unions, however, if they wish to associate themselves with the newly selected employees rather than by the union, they may do so by revoking their association with the unions. The law however, has also levied certain regulations for the employee representatives which shall have to be followed by them. These include the right to recognize the existence of all the employees and other bargaining representatives. However, this in no way entails following of orders or decisions arrived at in the discussion by the employer (Forsyth, Stewart, 2009: 8-12; CCH editors, 2009: 557-60). One of the key aspect of the National Employment Standard was to restore the rights of the workers and allow them flexible work hours, better employment benefits, and several other benefits such as an additional leave for up to one year, under the parental leave scheme (Forrester, Griffiths, 2010: 264-68; Riley, Sheldon, 2008: 62-5). The industrial relations which were highly complicated, owing to the laws implemented by the previous Conservative government were simplified by the Labor government as a part of industrial reforms, and a new system of modern rewards was developed and implemented by the new government, where better and new terms and conditions of employment as applicable to various industries and across various occupations was introduced. However, such modest attempts at ensuring and restoring the workers rights and developing better industrial relations were not without any controversy or criticism. The new laws faced opposition from the employers who claimed that the costs and time involved were higher and detrimental to their work while the labour unions on the other hand complained that the new terms of awards could prove to be harmful for a certain section of the workers. However, despite such opposition and criticism the new reforms initiated by the Labor government were largely successful and were viewed as favourable as compared to the previous law. Conclusion: One of the greatest benefits of the new labour reform laws was largely experienced by the workers rather than the unions as the law specifically targeted the benefits of the workers and employees rather than empowering the unions. The Fair Work Australia provided a platform for all the parties concerned i.e. the workers unions, the employees as well as the employers to register their complaints and share their grievances and resolved to offer amicable solutions and assist all the parties throughout the bargaining process. The new law has provided for the establishment of a low-paid bargaining system, as a reaction to the complaints by employers and unions alike, regarding the high costs involved. Over and above this, there are various other reforms which were initiated by the Labor government. One of the most significant of them all is the one allowing paid Parental Leave introduced under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010. Under this act, the workers will now be allowed to apply for leave pay and it covers children who are born as well as those who are adopted, commencing from January 2011. This reform has been regarded as one of the most difficult to achieve and one of the most beneficial laws ever introduced in favour of the employees. With the introduction of this law, Australia succeeded in delisting itself from the list of the OECD countries which did not allow for paid parental leaves as a legislated right of the citizens. Although despite significant attempts to endorse the new legislations as pro-workers the same has been surrounded by various controversies, some of them directly attacking the morale / rational behind the intentions or good faith, however the general consensus regarding the same has been widely positive. References: Balnave, N., (2009). Employment Relations in Australia, John Wiley & Sons CCH editors (2009). Australian Fair Work Act: With Regulations and Rules, CCH Australia limited, 79-81 CCH editors, (2009). Understanding forward with fairness: A practical guide to the new workplace relations system, CCH Australia Limited, 79 - 81 CCH editors, (2009). Australian master workplace relations guide, CCH Australia Limited, 557 - 560 Forsyth, A., Stewart, A., (2009). Fair Work: The new workplace laws and work choices legacy, Federation Press, 8-12 Forrester, K., Griffiths, D., (2010). Essentials of law for health professionals, Elseiver Australia, 264-268 Golan, P. J., (2009). Australian industrial relations reform in perspective: Beyond Work Choices and future prospects under the Fair Work Act 2009. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 47(3) 260 - 269 Muir, K., (2009). Worth fighting for: Inside the 'Your Rights at Work Campaign', UNSW Press, 80-85 Riley, J., Sheldon, P., (2008). Remaking Australian Industrial Relations, CCH Australia limited, 62-65 Stewart, A. J., (2009). A question of balance: Labor's new vision for workplace regulation, Australian Journal of Labour Law, 22 (1): 3-50 Stewart, A. J., Williams, G., (2007). Work Choices: What the High Court said, Federation Press, 33-40 Spoehr, J., (2009). State of South Australia: From crisis to prosperity? Wakefield Press, 311-313 Work Choices Act (2005). Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act [Online] Available at: http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/law/workchoicesbill.htm [Accessed: May 11, 2011] NA (2008). OECD Economic Surveys: Australia, OECD Publishing, 121-125 Read More