AREEA has sent the Albanese Government 10 key workplace priorities for consideration at the “Economic Reform Roundtable” in Canberra on August 19-21.

The submission underlines how businesses are drowning in employment red tape and regulatory burden, resulting in an enormous opportunity cost not only for the resources and energy sector but across the economy.

At the same time, far too much third-party interference has crept into the employment relationship.

At every stage possible and in almost every process or procedure, our IR system now puts trade unions or the Fair Work Commission right in the middle of employer/employee interaction – and right in the way of business getting done.

These interventions are a blight on productivity and employment outcomes.

As reported in today’s Australian Financial Review, AREEA’s proposals include overhauling the Fair Work Commission (FWC) appointments process to ensure a balanced and representative approach that will maintain confidence in decisions of the workplace tribunal.

AREEA’s reform priorities, devised in consultation with members, are summarised below:

1. The safety net needs significant attention. Ultimately, a revamp is required that would see the antiquated system of industrial awards replaced by a simplified universal Minimum Standards of Employment Act underpinning all employment – with an appropriate number of variances (fewer than 20) on minimum wages applying to different industries.
2. Special rules for high-income arrangements. To support the competitiveness of high-paying sectors and facilitate new ways of working, Australia must recognise the level of regulation, compliance, protections and government-forced industrial organisation required for lower paying employment arrangement need not unilaterally apply. The majority of regulation and protections become unnecessary once a certain salary is reached. There could be less regulation for employees above a nominated high-income threshold, and less regulation for high-paying employers.
3. A better bargaining system. Enterprise bargaining must be stripped of its complexity. Parties should be encouraged and supported by the system to bargaining if they choose to do so. Whether unions are involved or not is a matter for the employees.
4. Multi-employer bargaining must only be facilitated where employers and unions agree. The system cannot allow, as it currently does, for businesses with very different commercial and operational circumstances to be forced to bargain collectively.
5. Balancing Employer-Union-Employee Interests. Freedom of Association must be restored to our overtly pro-union IR framework.
6. Union right of entry must revert to a fair and balanced system, whereby officials cannot simply demand site access to pursue myriad union campaign and recruitment objectives.
7. General protections and unfair dismissal laws must be overhauled to better protect employers against vexatious claims and “forum shopping” behaviour.
8. Labour hire “same job same pay” laws must be abolished or substantially watered down. Market forces such as the ability for labour hire businesses to attract talent within a highly competitive labour market are the best indicator of whether above award rates of pay are fair and competitive within relevant industries and commercial settings.
9. Small business should be properly defined and recognised in the IR legislation. The definition of a small business should be 50 FTE employees, and various exemptions for small business should be reviewed to confirm they are substantial enough to actively encourage start-ups and entrepreneurship.
10. Fair Work Commission (FWC) appointments should be made via a new tripartite process. More than half the Commission’s current members have worked directly for trade unions or acted for them before being appointed by the ALP. An apolitical, non-partisan national IR tribunal appointment process should be established, so that the FWC contains the broad experience and views befitting its expanded role. The proposed tri-partite committee for FWC appointments would comprise the IR Minister, ACTU and business representatives.

The Roundtable is set to address three main themes:

• Making our economy more productive;
• Building resilience in the face of global uncertainty; and
• Strengthening the budget and making it more sustainable.

But as AREEA’s submission highlights, the foundation has to be unwinding Australia’s multi-layered IR system.

When too great a proportion of employment costs are in administration and compliance, employees are denied higher wages.

Job creation is stifled.

Investment backs off.

If productivity is to lift, the costs associated with implementing the Government’s restrictive industrial relations laws and ceding more power to trade unions must be squarely and honestly appraised.

Find AREEA’s full submission here.