Employers split over IR laws

The federal government has gone over the top with its workplace revamp, according to Australia's largest employer organisation.

AiG chief Heather Ridout said her organisation never supported the junking of unfair dismissal rights and Australians had ended up with harsher laws than employers wanted.

"The parliamentary system failed us and we got tougher laws than we might have," Ridout told a Women, Management and Employment Relations Conference in Sydney.

Ridout's comments broke ranks with other peak business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the rich man's, Business Council of Australia, made up of chief executives from 200 leading companies.

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