Industrial Relations Policy

Principles

The Greens NSW believe:

1. The Coalition Government’s ‘WorkChoices’ regime attacks the working rights of all  Australians and must be opposed, repealed and replaced;
2. All people have the right to pursue their well-being in conditions of freedom and dignity, economic security and equal opportunity;
3. Australia’s future workforce must be highly skilled, highly trained and well paid.  The existence of a safety net and the right to collectively bargain are essential to achieving these aims;
4. The right to be a member of an effective union, to collectively bargain, to collectively withhold labour and collectively organise in the workplace is essential to achieving a sustainable and democratic future;
5. Free, independent and democratic unions are an essential pillar of a civil society;
6. Working people must receive fair and equitable remuneration for their work, and income differentials should be decreased;
7. As society’s productivity increases, people should be able to work fewer hours and earn a living wage supported by a strong “social wage” and progressive tax rates;
8. Working people have the right to be involved in decisions about their work;
9. People have the right to a workplace free from occupational hazards;
10. Industrial manslaughter is a crime;
11. The objectives of profitability and efficiency should not override social and ecological objectives;
12. Effective processes of conciliation and arbitration before an independent tribunal are a necessary element in any fair and effective industrial relations system;
13. It is in the interests of all working people to belong to their appropriate union and actively involve themselves in it at the workplace level and at other levels as the opportunity arises; and
14. All working people have the right to be involved in participatory workplace management.
    
    

    Goals

    The Greens NSW want:
15. The 'WorkChoices' regime to be abolished, and replaced with an industrial relations system that guarantees all workers a fair go;
16. An industrial relations system that protects and enhances the rights of employees and workers by;
• 16.1 Legislating a fair minimum standard for pay and annual leave and reasonable hours of work that protects all employees and workers
• 16.2 Providing comprehensive industry wide awards that give rights and entitlements in excess of the legislative minimums and which are determined by conciliation and arbitration before an effective and independent industrial tribunal
• 16.3 Facilitating industry wide collective agreements that are union negotiated and exceed the Award standards and
• 16.4 Ensuring that workplace and union-led bargaining is the primary tool for obtaining industrial outcomes by putting in place a sufficient threshold before any party can refer a dispute to conciliation and arbitration;
17. Restoration and maintenance of a strong state industrial relations system;
18. The promotion of collective agreements as the primary means of regulating employment;
19. Full protection of accrued entitlements of employees;
20. Full employment and job security for all who seek employment;
21. Protection against the forced casualisation of work and greater protection for existing casual workers;
22. Equal access to paid work based on ability and irrespective of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or religion;
23. Full participation of different sections of the workforce in industrial negotiations, with particular attention paid to undermining the barriers to the participation of women workers and workers of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;
24. Abolition of the gender pay gap;
25. A more equitable distribution of corporate income between management and employees;
26. Mandated shorter standard working hours, without loss of pay, the elimination of imposed overtime, a fairer sharing of paid work and a reversal of current trends towards increased unpaid overtime;
27. A better balance between work and family, social and community involvement that sees work as a necessary, but not dominating, element in people’s lives;
28. To raise base rates of pay so that lower paid workers can work fewer hours;
29. The costs of workplace bargaining to be shared fairly between employees;
30. To ensure that workplaces are free of harassment, bullying and discrimination; and
31. To promote eduction in schools, TAFE colleges and universities, as well as generally in the community, of the importance of workers rights and the function of unions, industrial relations and workplace safety in our society.
    
    

    Measures

    The Greens NSW will:
32. Support the repeal the Coalition Government’s WorkChoices legislation;
33. Legislate to provide more extensive protections for NSW workers from the federal government’s “WorkChoices” regime, including:
• 33.1 Removing the ambiguity surrounding council workers and workers in state owned corporations, clearly removing them from coverage by “WorkChoices”
• 33.2 Requiring that successful tenders for the outsourced provision of public services provide for the payment of at least Award conditions for employees;
34. Legislate for a minimum wage in NSW;
35. Protect NSW employees from demands for unreasonable working hours, including unreasonably long and short shifts;
36. Legislate for a mandatory minimum of five weeks paid annual leave for all employees;
37. Support industrial manslaughter laws;
38. Require employers to enter into collective agreements with their workforce where the majority of the workforce requests it, with the IRC to arbitrate if no agreement can be reached;
39. Support legislation requiring ‘good faith bargaining’, drawing on international models to ensure that parties engage seriously in the process of reaching collective agreements;
40. Support the abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements and protect any existing entitlements through common law contracts underpinned by relevant state and federal awards or collective agreements;
41. Require employers to inform new and existing employees that they are entitled to join a union, and of the unions responsible for the sector;
42. Repeal any independent contractors legislation that strips employment rights from individuals;
43. Support the creation and enforcement of industrial and immigration laws that stop the exploitation of foreign workers by ensuring they receive the same pay and entitlements as a local worker doing the same job;
44. Establish minimum employment standards for trainees and apprentices;
45. Ensure that relevant training and skills development is made available to all workers, including apprentices, trainees, part-time and casual employees, without loss of pay;
46. Ensure that safety induction courses are formulated for all workplaces and made compulsory for all employees and funded by WorkCover;
47. Legislatively protect the right to strike, as recognised in International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions No. 87 and No. 98, as a fundamental right of workers to promote and defend their economic and social interests;
48. Support the repeal provisions against legitimate union activity (such as sections 45D and 45E in the Trade Practices Act 1974); and the protection of unions and workers against common law actions;
49. Abolish onerous requirements for secret ballots before industrial action;
50. Support the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the repeal of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act;
51. Support the abolition of the Office of the Employment Advocate and the Office of Workplace Services and reinstatement of the functions of the Industrial Relations Commission;
52. Restore unions’ right of entry to recruit members, inspect for and remedy breaches of occupational health and safety provisions, breaches of the Workplace Relations Act and relevant awards or agreements, and other activities related to building workers organisation in the workplace;
53. Restore the right of all employees, including casual, fixed term and probationary workers, to challenge termination of employment where it is unfair, with reinstatement to be the remedy except in exceptional circumstances;
54. Amend the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry insofar as it restricts matters that can be incorporated into workplace agreements;
55. Increase casual loadings to a minimum of 30% and introduce the ability for casual employees to convert to permanent part time work after 3 months of continuous employment;
56. Support measures to provide for universal and more adequate paid parental leave to facilitate parents’ full participation in the workforce;
57. Support the establishment of a National Pay Equity Standard to help correct the gender pay gap;
58. Establish industry trust funds for the comprehensive protection of all workers’ entitlements, so that workers are not hit doubly hard by company liquidations;
59. Support amendments to the Trade Practices Act to introduce a National Unfair Contracts regime;
60. Legislate to protect the right of trade unionists to have their union dues deducted from their wages directly;
61. Provide resources to organisations of the unemployed to give them an effective voice in society; and
62. Legislate to stop the exploitation of contracted staff, out-workers, casual workers and those employed through labour hire.

Follow this link for The Greens NSW Industrial Relations Policy Summary.