Unions are urging the Albanese government to ditch discussions with employers and immediately scrap a “loophole” that allows businesses to axe pay and conditions during bargaining.
Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke said on Monday he was increasingly concerned about employers’ ability to terminate agreements and revert workers to the award minimum, and flagged it would be a key issue for discussion at next month’s Jobs and Skills Summit.
Tugboat giant Svitzer, which has applied to terminate its underlying union agreement after a two-year bargaining deadlock, said the move would allow it to compete unencumbered by legacy conditions agreed to “in a very different time”. Svitzer wants to remove “costly” terms such as fixed manning levels and up to four days’ pay for working as little as two hours but has committed to maintain workers’ base salaries, rosters and core conditions after termination.
“To me, this appears to be more than a loophole, it’s a rort – and I’m disgusted that it’s even being tried.” But he said the government wanted the Fair Work Commission to assist parties to reach agreement, stressing “tripartite dialogue”.
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