Saturday, March 09, 2019

ACTU – Fels report falls short on worker protections

7 March 2019

The peak body for working people has expressed disappointment with the key recommendations of a Morrison Government report into migrant worker exploitation as materially inadequate.

The report from the Migrant Worker Taskforce chaired by Alan Fels recommends a “light touch” regulatory approach to the labour hire industry.

The labour hire recommendations are restricted to a small number of industries and will fail to prevent the use of labour hire companies to drive down wages and conditions.

The report fails to acknowledge the critical role of unions in the enforcement of employment standards. The Morrison Government’s constant attack on union and workers’ rights allows those employers who want to rip off workers, including migrant workers to act with impunity.

If the Morrison Government was serious about enforcement they would not be trying to change the laws to make it harder for workers to get access to union representation in the workplace.  

The taskforce was established shortly after the election of the Turnbull Government in 2016 and has spent the best part of three years reaching its findings.

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