he hothouse atmosphere of
the election campaign saw
commitments made in
important areas of concern to
business, such as workplace rela
tions and climate change.
Both the Government and
Opposition stated publicly that
they would not make changes to
the Fair Work Act during the
next term of Government. Ai
Group is concerned that political
expediency could rule out impor
tant changes that may be
required, not only to preserve
the intent of the law but also to
make it workable for business
and the economy.
We will work with the new
Government in an effort to
ensure that Australia’s work
places remain flexible and pro
ductive. The importance of pre
serving flexibility was highlight
ed during the global financial
crisis when labour markets were
able to adjust, allowing jobs to
be preserved and businesses to
retain viability and keep operat
ing. This flexibility should
remain a priority for govern
ment, industry and employees.
Flexibility is also a specific
area of concern in the Act, which
we believe requires amendment.
We believe flexibility terms in
enterprise agreements are not
achieving their policy intent.
Individual flexibility arrange
ments need to give individual
employees and employers a gen
uine opportunity to agree on
arrangements that depart from
the relevant enterprise agree
ment, subject to the employee
being better off overall. Unions
are routinely refusing to sign
agreements unless the flexibility
term allows little or no flexibili
ty. To address this problem, a
specific flexibility term should
be set-out in the Act and made a
term of all agreements.
Another area of the Fair Work
Act requiring amendment relates
to the transfer of business laws.
These laws are operating against
the interests of employers and
employees and some sensible
changes are needed, including
restoring the High Court's ‘char
acter of the business’ test, which
was extinguished by the Fair
Work Act. After 12 months of
operation, it is very clear that
the laws are acting to deter
employers who take on out
sourced work from employing
any employees of their client.
This is not sensible when in
many cases the new employer,
the old employer and the
employee all want the employee
to transfer. The laws are creating
a lose-lose-lose scenario.
Climate change is also critical
for business and will continue
to dominate discussion.
Government and industry need
to continue climate change dia
logue and business needs to have
confidence that its concerns are
well-understood by politics.
Ai Group and its members will
seek an active engagement with
the next government to address
the risks posed by the accumula
tion of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere.