Australian Labor Party Victorian Branch State Conference 2016 Venue Moonee Valley Racecourse McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds URGENCY RESOLUTIONS URGENCY RESOLUTIONS (Draft Document) Victorian ALP State Conference November 2016 No. 1. UNIVERSAL PAID FAMILY & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEAVE This conference applauds the work of the Andrews’ Government in tackling the scourge of family and domestic violence through the establishment of a Royal Commission and other important initiatives. For over a decade a broad based community and union campaign has been seeking to have paid family & domestic violence leave included in both Modern Awards and/or enterprise agreements. Conference congratulates unions and employers who have negotiated workplace agreements that now provide more than 1.6 million employees access to paid family & domestic violence leave. Currently the ACTU is running an important case in the Fair Work Commission to include paid family & domestic violence leave in all Modern Awards. The inclusion of family & domestic violence leave as an entitlement has ensured countless women who are experiencing and/or leaving domestic violence situations are supported, protected and able to maintain their employment and subsequent economic independence. But despite all these efforts we still have more work to do to protect predominantly women and children from the impacts of family violence. There are too many employees who still don’t have any support from their workplace. That is why Victorian Labor supports a paid leave entitlement in the NES so that all workers – predominantly women – who are faced with family violence situations can access paid leave. Family & domestic violence leave in the NES also recognises that women are more likely to be in casual, part-time and precarious work and with the least bargaining power. Family & domestic violence leave should be considered no less of an entitlement than other forms of leave already contained in the NES including annual leave, long service leave, personal carers leave, compassionate leave, community service leave or parental leave. The inclusion of domestic violence leave in the NES ensures: 1. Every employee covered by the federal industrial relations system will be entitled to access the leave regardless of what instrument they are employed under; 2. The leave is secure so it cannot be “bargained off”; 3. It protects the most vulnerable and those with the least bargaining power; and 4. The inclusion of domestic violence leave in the NES will deliver the entitlement to all Victorian employees. Accordingly the Andrew’s Labor Government will continue to press the Federal Government to include family & domestic violence leave in the NES. Victorian Labor calls on the Federal government to acknowledge the suite of measures required to reduce violence against women, including by providing adequate funding for domestic violence support services. Moved: Ingrid Stitt Seconded: Natalie Hutchins No. 2A. LABOR HIRE INQUIRY The Victorian ALP Conference welcomes the Victorian Government’s, Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work - Final Report and congratulates the Victorian Labor Government for showing real leadership on this issue. In contrast, the Federal Liberal Government have ignored calls to crack down on the exploitation of labour hire workers by unscrupulous employers and companies, whilst the State Labor Government has listened to Victorian workers and their unions and acted. Conference notes the Inquiry report findings that: • labour hire workers in Victoria are treated almost like a ‘second class’ of worker. This treatment extends to outright exploitation in certain sectors – principally the horticulture, meat and cleaning industries. • the impact of insecure work has on Victorian workers included financial insecurity, difficulty planning and saving for the future, and stress (including in the management of working time and family commitments). Conference condemns the Federal Liberal Governments failure to address the exploitation of labour hire workers and temporary workers and; Conference calls on the Federal Government to work with the Victorian Labor Government to immediately implement the following report recommendations: • increase the Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigatory powers and to increase the penalties applicable under the Fair Work Act for award breaches and failure to maintain proper employment records. • Through the Council of Australian Governments work to create a national licensing scheme for labour hire operators. Moved: L. Chesters Seconded: N. Hutchins No. 2B. LABOR HIRE INQUIRY Labor recognises that the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work has identified serious and widespread issues of exploitation and unethical labour practices within the labour hire industry in Victoria. The Inquiry’s Final Report (31 August 2016) found a multitude of unlawful and rogue practices committed by labour hire companies and operators including, underpayment of award wages, other breaches of award conditions, non-payment of superannuation, poor or dangerous health and safety, abuse of workers on visa’s, victimisation and bullying and tax avoidance. This unacceptable situation arises in circumstances where the Victorian labour hire industry remains largely unregulated. Similar issues of concerns have been identified in a number of state and federal inquiries including those conducted by the Queensland and South Australian state governments and at a federal level, by the Senate Economic and Finance Committee. The Victorian Inquiry’s Final Report made 35 recommendations including the establishment of a national labour hire scheme, but in the absence of such a scheme, a Victorian scheme should proceed to be established in certain sectors of the economy. The Conference notes that the recommendations from the Final Report are inadequate to ensure that all workers engaged under labour-hire arrangements in Victoria are afforded full protection from abuse and exploitation. We await the formal response of the Victorian Government. The Conference urges the State Government to introduce a more comprehensive mandatory licensing scheme which extends to all Victorian industries and labour hire workers. Further, that the the expanded scheme and the other recommendations outlined in the Final Report are implemented in a timely and consultative manner including: • the establishment of a mandatory licensing scheme for labour hire operators that extends to all Victorian industries and all labour hire workers; • the establishment of an independent regulatory body that has clear powers to license, regulate, prosecute and penalise labour hire operators where breaches occur; • the introduction of the requirement that to secure a labour hire licence, a labour hire operator must meet a threshold capital requirement based on held assets and revenue and cash flow, satisfy a fit and proper person test, must be able to demonstrate a history of compliance with health and safety laws and industrial compliance and show a capacity to meet employee obligations and the payment of an annual licence fee; the introduction of criminal offences relating exploitative practices committed by labour hire operators and/or host organisation/s; The introduction of significant penalties for the use of unlicensed or unregistered labour hire firms by host employers; • the strengthening of state government procurement policies and practices to ensure that Victorian tax expenditure is used to promote safe and secure employment; • the funding of workplace rights, safety and readiness programs for recently arrived migrant workers who are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous labour hire practices; • the enhancement of Victoria’s occupational, health and safety laws to ensure there is no liability gaps in the protection of labour hire workers as regards both the labour hire agency and their host’; and • the strengthening of Victoria’s occupational, health and safety laws to improve worker representation and to protect workers against victimisation for asserting their rights under the OH&S Act 2004 (Vic). Moved: Michele O’Neil (TCFUA) Gary Maas (NUW) Seconded: Ben Davis (AWU) Steve Dargavel (AMWU) No. 3. CUB 55 The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) on behalf of the AMWU and ETU members from Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) in Abbotsford, the “CUB 55”, who have been protesting for over 150 days for reinstatement to their jobs on existing pay and site conditions, calls on Conference to condemn the inaction of the Turnbull Government to address the injustice faced by these workers, and the failure of the Government to reign in the rampant abuse of loopholes in the Fair Work Act that allow multinational corporations to bypass fair bargaining standards and deprive workers of their long-held livelihoods. We call on Victorian Labor to support the CUB 55 and the union movement’s campaign to overhaul the Fair Work Act to close this loophole and prevent further corporations’ avoidance of the Fair Work Act, through which just three workers in another state can vote up an agreement that can be applied to workers in another state, without accepted bargaining principles, over two years later, and despite only working for a related entity for only three days as a casual in a different industry. In addition we call on Victorian Labor to engage their Federal counterparts to support the CUB 55 and union campaign with actions that fall within their jurisdiction. We call on