1. Unfair dismissals for businesses with over 100 employees, the prescribed probation period is now six months.
2. Redundancies will not be able to be a ground for unfair dismissal
3. The so called $4k for unlawful dismissals is actually means tested legal advice through the govt's office of workplace services.
4. The so called fair pay commission members will be on five year contracts only, so no real independence.
5. Employers are definitely able to make signing AWA's a condition of employment in a new job.
6. The 38 hour week will be able to be averaged over 12 months.
7. The consideration period for EBAs is cut to 7 days and can be waived altogether if all employees "agree" in writing.
8. This point is ambiguous but it looks like only employers will be able to lodge agreements, which must be done within 14 days otherwise penalties apply.
9. When an agreement made under "WorkChoices" is terminated the minimum conditions will be those 5 legislated for, there is no mention of underpinning award conditions.
10. Union can no longer choose to party to non union agreements.
11. Despite the so called protections of public holidays and meal breaks, leave loadings, allowances and overtime/shift penalties, these can still be taken away in one line of an AWA stating they no longer apply.
12. AWAs can be up to 5 years long.
13. Agreements cannot include union picnic days, paid union meetings, trade union training leave, commitment to future agreements being union ones, union involvement in dispute procedures, or provide a remedy for unfair dismissals.
14. All awards will have their dispute procedures replaced by one produced by the govt, although it is not in the document.
15. No more s166A, tort claims can go straight to court.
16. All protected action ballots done by the AEC, with 20% of the cost to paid by the union, at least non unionists cannot vote in these ballots if initiated by the union.
17. Pattern bargaining invalidates bargaining periods, although there in no mention of the mooted secret ballot before initiating a bargaining period.
18. Protected action able to be terminated by third party application.
19. Industrial action being taken in a state jurisdiction can have section 127 orders to stop it.
20. Awards will not be allowed to have union picnic days in them.
21. Redundancy clauses in construction awards will not be allowed "genuine redundancy" only.
22. Construction awards must allow for part time work.
23. Ambiguous words on allowances they are only allowed where "the allowance reimburses the employee for expenses incurred in the course of employment" which doesn't look good for fares and travel allowances in construction awards.
24. In awards, no skill based career paths, no restriction on contractors or labour hire.
25. Awards to be rationalised/amalgamated at both an industry and employer level, a taskforce to report by the end of Jan 2006 on the strategy to do this
26. AIRC loses its award making powers except as part of this taskforce process.
27. Right of entry permits can be revoked or suspended by the AIRC for a whole union or its' branch where "one of its officials has abused the system".
28. For right of entry to investigate breaches, the official must provide details of these, also the boss can specify the room for a meeting and the route to be taken to that venue.
29. Organisers to use a state based ohs right of entry will need to have federal permit as well.
30. The good news is that it looks like s.210 and s.93 under the NSW IR Act applications will not be affected.
31. Reversal of the onus of proof in constructive dismissal cases, so the worker has to prove it now.
32. 5 million bucks to train bosses in how to sack people.
33. State awards and agreements of constitutional corps both become federal agreements minus offending bits and cannot be varied in federal system, presumably including pay rates and allowances.
34. The possibility of the creation of a new miscellaneous award for employees newly caught up in the national system that are not covered by an award by the award review taskforce.
35. One last point, all the people in the govt's propaganda material are white further evidence of the racist tendencies of Howard.
prepared by
Seán Marshall
Industrial Officer
CFMEU NSW Branch
Construction & General Division
Public support for the wharfies during the 1998 Patrick Stevedores dispute was consolidated by a maritime union court victory preventing the employer from effectively shedding its entire unionised workforce. This victory was made possible, in part, because Patrick was required to prove that it did not threaten to dismiss its employees on the basis that they were union members. It failed to do so.
