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The change comes after months of pressure from unions, and within the Minns government’s caucus, to stamp out modern slavery.
The Minns government has vowed to mandate a labour hire licensing scheme to stamp out modern slavery practices within 100 days if re-elected next year, after months of pressure to follow other states in regulating the troublesome industry.
Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis will on Friday announce the government would establish a licensing scheme to “protect public and private sector supply chains from unscrupulous operators” in the labour hire industry. Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis will announce a re-elected Labor government would introduce a labour hire licensing scheme within 100 days of the next election.
It comes after significant pressure from within the union movement, and the government itself, as well as an explosive independent probe into the use of labour hire at the new Western Sydney Airport Metro which resulted in the termination of a major contractor. That review, led by barrister Max Kimber, SC, into the building of metro stations, found suspected underpayment of workers, insurance fraud, tax fraud andUnder the scheme, host employers would use only the services of a registered labour hire provider,“Every worker deserves fair pay, access to their entitlements, and to work and live in a safefor labour hire workers,” she said.
Labor MP Sarah Kaine has been among those pushing the Minns government to act on labour hire licensing rules. There have been growing calls for the government to crack down on rogue labour hire operators from unions and anti-slavery advocates after evidence of significant exploitation of migrant workers in the state.revealed that a NSW government backbencher, Sarah Kaine, had taken the highly unusual step of seeking toThat decision led to tense scenes in the party’s caucus.
Multiple sources said Kaine was rebuked by ministers over the move during the partyroom meeting, while attempts to have her proposal referred to one of the party’s internal policy review committees were shouted down. It followed research from the Labor-aligned think tank the McKell Institute which found the absence of a licensing scheme in NSW – compared to Victoria and Queensland – had created a “magnetic pull for labour hire operators seeking to exploit seasonal workers for profit”.
The state anti-slavery commissioner, James Cockayne, has also alleged that a system of exploitation overseen by dodgy labour hire companies was exposing migrant workers to “modern slavery harms” in NSW. The new Unions NSW Secretary, Thomas Costa, welcomed the commitment, saying that “until now, dodgy labour hire operators have come to NSW when they’ve been banned everywhere else”.
“We have seen appalling abuses, with workers paid as little as two to three dollars an hour to do“This licensing reform means workers on building sites, berry farms, aged care facilities and other workplaces will know their employer has passed a basic test of honesty and propriety. It stops honestStart the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights.
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