AWAs hurt WA workers

A report by the Western Australia's fair employment advocate, Helen Creed, found that some employers had used AWAs to direct employees when to take annual leave, change their rosters at an hour's notice, cut meal breaks to 15 minutes and remove other basic rights.

Julia Gillard, Labor's Deputy Leader, said many vulnerable workers without bargaining power, particularly the young and the low-skilled, had seen their pay and conditions stripped away in Western Australia.

The report analysed 33 West Australian AWAs and found 64 per cent had "removed or reduced every protected award condition". Thirty per cent did so while providing wages less than or equal to the relevant pay scale.

Ms Creed said the task of analysing the AWAs was hampered by secrecy provisions that denied her office access to individual agreements unless they were pased on to her by concerned employees. Even then, the employer could not be identified without risking a penalty of up to six months jail.

Ms Creed said the Government's fairness test introduced in May had not alleviated her concerns. More than half the contracts she reviewed were lodged after it came into effect.

The report said more AWAs were registered in WA than any other state, with the retail sector most reliant on them, followed by mining and hospitality.

WA State Employment Minister Michelle Roberts said the findings showed the system was fundamentally flawed.