WA unions will today launch a $1million campaign blitz to fight the Barnett’s Government’s plans to introduce WorkChoices in WA.
The Barnett Government is drafting new laws and will attempt to sneak through 193 changes to Western Australia’s workplace laws.
The new laws will affect more than 300,000 workers in small business and the public sector. They will force new workers onto individual contracts, strip back the award safety net and cut minimum employment standards.
The No WorkChoices in WA campaign will involve metropolitan and regional TV, radio and newspaper advertising, as well as an online strategy and community activism.
The campaign will focus on the negative impacts the Barnett changes will have on workers, as well as the impact on the quality of public sector service delivery from making the public sector a less attractive and less secure place to work.
UnionsWA Secretary Simone McGurk says the Government’s secretive handling of the report has left unions no choice but to run a large scale public awareness campaign to ensure people know about the Government’s plans.
“At the same time as Colin Barnett is planning on building himself a flash new office to make his time at work more enjoyable, the Premier is planning radical changes to the workplace conditions of more than 300,000 WA workers,” Ms McGurk said.
“Mr Barnett clearly understands that his radical workplace changes will be unpopular, because he is trying to slip them through unnoticed.
“Mr Barnett’s changes include the worst aspects of WorkChoices, including forcing new workers onto individual contracts, stripping back the award safety net and cutting minimum employment standards.
“The Barnett Government has no mandate to make changes to the industrial relations system in WA which is currently working well for both employers and employees. They were not upfront with people prior to the 2008 election about their intention to make changes and they continue to be secretive now as they try to slip these radical changes through under the radar.”
The Barnett Government’s new industrial relations laws are based on the recommendations from a review of the State’s industrial relations system, which was commissioned in 2009 by then Commerce Minister Troy Buswell. The review was undertaken by former Howard Government industrial relations advocate Steven Amendola and cost WA taxpayers more than $1million.
The changes will directly impact on the employment conditions of about one in three working Western Australians who work in small businesses and in the public sector. However, Ms McGurk said the changes will however be felt by all Western Australians as they will undermine the workers who provide our vital public services.
“If the Premier persists with his plans to undermine the employment conditions of our public sector workers, vital public services like health, education and community safety will find it difficult to recruit and retain the staff they need to provide quality services.
“This will only be exacerbated as mining companies and the private sector pay more to attract the workers they need in the new boom.
“Mr Barnett must come clean on his Government’s plans and inform the WA public of their intentions to undermine employment conditions for 1 in 3 Western Australians.”
Tags: UnionsWA, workchoices
