FOR the third consecutive federal election, Australia’s resource industry has ranked the workplace policies of each major political party against its operational and competitive needs and, despite some key deficiencies, the Coalition’s plans have come out on top.
AREEA’s (Australian Mines and Metals Association) 2013 Election Year IR Policy Scorecard compares the capacity of each party’s policies to drive more jobs, more investment and greater confidence in the Australian resource industry.
The Coalition scored 29 from a possible 40 (73%), notwithstanding significant shortfalls in its policy; the ALP scored 18.5 from 40 (46%); while the Greens party again demonstrated its deficiencies in this crucial area with a score of 7.5 out of 40 (19%).
“The three major parties were ranked across 10 crucial workplace areas for resource employers, including agreement making, productivity improvements, and addressing issues of escalating industrial action and disruptive union site visits,” says AREEA chief executive Steve Knott.
“AREEA’s scorecard shows the gap has widened between the two major parties since 2010, with the Coalition’s proposed fixes to the Fair Work Act providing more certainty and stability for Australian employers and their employees.
“However, there remain key deficiencies in the Coalition’s workplace relations policy, namely its failure to commit to delivering a workable individual agreement framework.
“Labor’s credibility on workplace relations has gone backwards since 2010, having not only failed to address existing problems in the Fair Work Act, but also making many further anti-business changes designed to impose unions between employers and their employees.
“If Labor sat a basic test on how workplace policies could promote investment in this country and allow resource employers to create more jobs and economic wealth, the party would categorically fail.
“Ironically, the Coalition’s improved workplace relations score is largely due to the party’s pledge to uphold policy promises originally made by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in 2007.
“Such promises include to retain the pre-2009 union site entry laws, which were balanced and universally respected; and to maintain a strong industrial watchdog for the construction industry, formally extending its powers to offshore construction.
“The Greens’ poor IR score is reflective of a party whose policies are increasingly removed from the practical realities and challenges of operating in Australia’s resource industry.”
Click here for the full AREEA 2013 Election Year Policy Scorecard.
Click here for the supplementary scorecard chart.
Workplace reform can prolong the ‘mining boom’
“This election presents a crossroads for Australia in terms of how our political leaders manage what some are calling ‘the end of the mining boom’,” says AREEA chief executive Steve Knott.
“In reality, a deeply flawed workplace system has contributed to Australia becoming a high cost, low productivity marketplace in a short period of time. Meaningful reform could see our nation regain its global competitiveness and prolong the strength of our resource industry for decades.”
Click here for a PDF of this media release including relevant media contact.
