Myths about wages, the Fair Work Act, and skills shortages that have been generated by employer groups are distorting national debate and damaging public policy outcomes, say unions.
In a speech to the Australian Mines and Minerals Association’s national conference today, ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence will call for business groups to move on from their obsession with dismantling the Fair Work Act, and instead engage with workers and unions to meet the shared challenges faced by the resource sector and the national economy.
But Mr Lawrence will say the first step must be for employer groups to cease spreading inaccurate myths and instead deal in honest facts.
In his speech, Mr Lawrence will highlight four damaging myths being circulated by commentators and some in the business community: that there is a wages breakout; that the Fair Work Act is damaging the economy; that large-scale temporary migration is the only solution to the skills shortage; and that unions are not prepared to engage constructively with business.
Mr Lawrence will say that all objective evidence shows that wages growth of 3.8% over the past year has been moderate and consistent with long-term trends.
“Far from a wages breakout – working Australians are struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving Australian economy,” Mr Lawrence says.
He will point out that fewer days have been lost to industrial disputes in the 18 months of operation of the Fair Work Act, than in the 18 months prior to its introduction. And it would be “fundamentally dishonest” to blame the Act for the decade-long slowing of Australian productivity growth.
Mr Lawrence says the current disputes at Qantas and Patrick Stevedoring are the usual rounds of bargaining that occur as agreements come up for renewal.
“Unions will always bargain hard on behalf of their members, but industrial action is always a last resort,” he says. “In any event, there is no doubt that agreement will be reached through negotiation in good faith by the employers and workforce.”
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