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Summary of Legislation Enacted by Queensland State Government Affecting UFUQ Members' Employment Rights. Industrial Relations

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Summary of Legislation Enacted by Queensland State Government Affecting UFUQ Members' Employment Rights. Industrial Relations Summary of legislation enacted by Queensland State government affecting UFUQ members’ employment rights. Industrial Relations (Fair Work Act Harmonisation) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. (May 2012). Summary of changes: • Restrictions on the right to take industrial action. • Complicated and lengthy processes for balloting industrial action • Government can forbid industrial action. • Forced arbitration. • Requirement for QIRC to consider government ‘fiscal strategy’ and ‘financial position’ • Government can bypass the union in CA negotiations and ballots. • Provides for Treasury to directly brief the QIRC without cross-examination of government and agency budgets • Dilution of QIRC independence • Public Service Commission appeals referred to QIRC MP Speakers for MP Speakers against Bleijie (Kawana —LNP) Palaszczuk (Inala —ALP) Elmes (Noosa—LNP) Bill Byrne (Rockhampton —ALP) Dr Douglas (Gaven—LNP) Tim Mulherin (Mackay—ALP) Crandon (Coomera—LNP) Curtis Pitt (Mulgrave—ALP) Gulley (Murrumba—LNP) Desley Scott (Woodridge—ALP) Molhoek (Southport—LNP) Jackie Trad (South Brisbane—ALP) Kaye (Greenslopes—LNP) Jo-Ann Miller (Bundamba—ALP) Stewart (Sunnybank—LNP) Liz Cunningham (Gladstone—Ind) Driscoll (Redcliffe—LNP) Dr Davis (Stafford—LNP) Hart (Burleigh—LNP) Berry (Ipswich—LNP) Sorensen (Hervey Bay—LNP) Ostapovitch (Stretton—LNP) Ruthenberg (Kallangur—LNP) Krause (Beaudesert—LNP) MP Voters for: MP votes against: AYES, 76— NOES, 10— LNP - Barton, Bates, Bennett, Berry, Bleijie, ALP-Byrne, Mulherin, Palaszczuk, Pitt, Trad. Cavallucci, Choat, Costigan, Cox, Crandon, Tellers: Miller, Scott Cripps, Crisafulli, Davies, C Davis, T Davis, 1 Dempsey, Dickson, Dillaway, Douglas, KAP – Katter, Knuth Dowling, Driscoll, Elmes, Emerson, Flegg, France, Frecklington, Gibson, Grant, Ind - Cunningham Grimwade, Gulley, Hart, Hathaway, Hobbs, Holswich, Hopper, Johnson, Judge, Kaye, Kempton, King, Krause, Langbroek, Latter, Maddern, Malone, Mander, McArdle, McVeigh, Millard, Minnikin, Molhoek, Newman, Nicholls, Ostapovitch, Powell, Pucci, Rice, Rickuss, Ruthenberg, Seeney, Shorten, Shuttleworth, Sorensen, Springborg, Stevens, Stewart, Stuckey, Symes, Trout, Walker, Watts, Woodforth, Young. Tellers: Menkens, Smith Ind - Wellington MP quotes during parliamentary debate: Anastasia Palazczuk (ALP): The bill is nothing short of an attack on the independence of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, an attack on the ability of workers to be represented by a union and an attack on the rights and conditions of working Queenslanders. This is an attack on the wages and conditions of our teachers, nurses, firefighters, wardies, teacher aides, cleaners, council workers and ambos and their families. This is quite simply the LNP government legislating for its own interests against the interests of Queensland’s teachers, nurses, cleaners, firefighters and ambos. The LNP approach is even more concerning with the insertion of the requirement of the commission to consider not only the position of the state government but also the financial position of the public sector entity. It was confirmed by the department’s submission to the committee hearing that this inserted clause deliberately requires the commission to consider not only the overall financial position of the government and the state economy but also the financial position of the specific public sector entity. The cause of concern is that it is the government that determines the financial position of a specific public sector entity at any given time. For example, these changes would enable the government to unfairly and maliciously set its own rules for determining the outcome. Despite a government having healthy finances overall, it could direct funding away from a particular public entity and then go to the commission crying poor, insisting that the poor financial position of that particular entity demands poor outcomes for the wages and conditions of the employees. As was pointed out by the insightful submission from the United Firefighters Union which stated that the LNP rationale ‘misses the point; even where an agreement is between the employer and employees, the employees should still have the right to be represented by the employee organisation to which they belong’. Bill Byrne (ALP): This bill is the LNP government’s attempt to roll out its version of Work Choices. In essence, this bill seeks to undermine workers’ collective bargaining and representation rights and move the industrial relations balance entirely in favour of the employer—in this case, the LNP government. This bill requires the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission to bend to the fiscal strategy of the LNP. Clearly this element corrupts the independence of the tribunal. 2 Has the LNP government bothered to fully and appropriately consult with the likes of teachers, fire and rescue professionals, ambos and nurses—those genuine, front-line, hardworking public sector employees out there busting their gut to deliver services to our communities? This obtuse bill is about weakening the independent umpire, disenfranchising collective bargaining, bringing threat rather than respect into the industrial relations landscape and disrespecting police officers, firies, ambos, park rangers and tradies—all from portfolios I shadow. Scott Driscoll (LNP): I am thrilled to see a piece of legislation like this. As someone who has been an employer and has worked in the industrial relations system, certainly I commend this bill to the House. Tim Mulherin (ALP): To require the independent umpire, the QIRC—a quasi-judicial body—to basically implement government policy is a breach of the doctrine of separation of powers, something which has not been very slow to raise its ugly spectre in homage to the Premier’s hero, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, in the earliest days of this government. The bill is an affront to the QIRC and to the established industrial landscape of this state. It sidelines the independent umpire, fails to observe the doctrine of separation of powers, provides legislatively for political interference by the minister and forces the commission to take into account information that has not been tested by parties to any dispute and does not even allow for such testing. Curtis Pitt (ALP): During the public hearing, I asked the United Firefighters Union State Secretary, John Oliver, if the Premier or his team consulted with the UFU prior to the election or informed them of any proposed changes to Queensland’s industrial system. He responded by saying that he was ‘completely taken by surprise’ by this proposed legislation. Of all the promises broken by the Newman government since it came to office, this is the most significant so far. Jackie Trad (ALP): It is loading the dice in favour of the government in all industrial matters affecting public sector workers. Thus, the Newman government is deliberately putting the commission in a compromising position. Whether the commission supports the government’s fiscal plan or decides contrary to government submissions, the commission’s role has become politicised. Jo-Ann Miller (ALP): By attacking the powers of the independent umpire, the Queensland industrial Relations Commission, these conservatives are following John Howard with WorkChoices, breaking their vows to the electorate and taking things too far. Who will be the cannon fodder for this tory government? Yes, the hardworking, front-line workers of this state. It will be those workers who work hard each day for all Queenslanders despite what party they support and whether they are union members or not—the paramedics, the nurses, the teachers, the coppers, the firefighters. Some of them risk their own lives to help their fellow Queenslanders in need. They are dedicated, brave men and women of Queensland. How dare these remarkable men and women be left without representation because you two-bob tories want to play politics with their livelihoods and those of their families. Instead of supporting these workers, instead of making it better for these people who do so much for all of us, the LNP are putting in place mechanisms to stop any improvements—to stop 3 improvements to their working conditions, to stop them trying to improve their wages for their families. They want to cut out the independent umpire which ensures the great front-line workers of the state have a chance to stand up for themselves and their families to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Jon Krause (LNP): I am particularly interested in this area of legislation and have held a keen academic interest in it since my days at university, when I undertook as an elective a course known as labour law. Of course, in those days at university we had a far better piece of federal legislation to study than we have now. We had the Workplace Relations Act 1996. They were the days of low rates of industrial action and increasing productivity. They were the days when Australia’s economy was under the stewardship of John Howard and Peter Costello. Liz Cunningham (Ind): I am happy to admit I am not across the implications of all this legislation. I do not know how it is going to play out in real life, and I am concerned that the application of it in real life could hurt a lot of hard working people. There have been members who have talked about the fact that part of the process of the QIRC in determining wage fixing is to take into account the ability of the employer to pay. In this instance overwhelmingly the employer is the government and the ability to pay lies at the foot of the people of Queensland. As outlined in the report most of the unions have repeated that statement—that the QIRC already has to have regard to that matter. We talk about balancing wages and the ability of the employer to pay. It is a fundamental in fiscal responsibility I do not have any problem with that. Get rid of those who have been political appointees, but do not disadvantage the teachers, the nurses, the firefighters—all of those emergency service workers who work for a pittance in some instances—at the altar of a political agenda if, indeed, that is what this bill is.
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