Face of Nation : Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher has slammed a new report that suggests enterprise bargaining agreements should be simplified and made more flexible, saying workers aren’t getting their fair share as it is.
The Business Council of Australia says new research shows workers are better off under such agreements, but to lift productivity and wages growth, the complexity of the process needs to be unscrambled while being more flexible. The council’s chief executive Jennifer Westacott says agreements have become “Downton Abbey-sized laundry lists”, containing way too many items.
“This bogs down negotiations, and agreements are taking too long to conclude. We can’t allow the EBA system to die the death of a thousand cuts,” she said releasing the report on Saturday. She said in a tough, competitive world it’s in everyone’s interests that workers and their employers can come together to adjust quickly to changing circumstances, such as new competition or technological change.
“Employers need the ability to adjust and change their operations quickly, and ensure the benefits of improved productivity are passed through to workers with higher wages and better condition,” she said. But Senator Gallagher, Labor’s finance spokeswoman, doesn’t think anything should be done to disadvantage working people.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the Business Council’s suggestion would lead workers on the “wrong path”, and would encourage employers to pay their staff even less.
“This suggestion would let employers pay people lower than the current legal minimum standards and make good employers who pay fairly compete with those who just want to cut wages,” she told AAP. “Working people need wages to go up and local businesses need customers with money to spend.” The lack of wages growth was a key talking point when Reserve Bank governor Philp Lowe faced federal politicians in Canberra on Friday. Dr Lowe does not expect pay packets will get much bigger in the next two years.
