The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned Labor is going beyond its vow to criminalise wage theft and is seeking to extend jail time for “honest” mistakes.
Small business is urging the Albanese government to rein in its expanding wage theft laws, saying jail time must be limited to deliberate underpayments and warning of strong opposition if it is extended to employers’ reckless behaviour.second tranche of workplace reforms
But ACCI said this marked a big shift from what the government took to the election and what it had referred to as its policy to criminalise “wage theft”. “Given that deliberate underpayments would be criminalised, it does not seem necessary to simultaneously increase the penalties for non-deliberate conduct,” it said.
The submissions represent the final feedback in the consultation ahead of the government introducing legislation in the second half of the year.Meanwhile, the Albanese government on Friday appointed eight current and former union officials to the Fair Work Commission, including the current ACTU assistant secretary, Scott Connolly.
However, Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association chief executive Steve Knott said the government had turned FWC into a “retirement home for union bosses”. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the appointments were “highly skilled” and consistent with Labor’s promise to rebalance the commission.The new members include former CFMEU mining division national legal officer Tony Slevin, who also represented the construction division in the Trade Union Royal Commission as a barrister. He will be made a deputy president.
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