13 February 2013
Steve Knott, Chief Executive, Australian Mines and Metals Association (AREEA)
The Australian Government has announced its intention to extend flexible work rights and improve mechanisms to address workplace bullying.
It is important that employees have rights to request flexible work and to work free of bullying and harassment. Resource industry employers take these matters very seriously and already have in place practical mechanisms to support employee rights and protect against unacceptable conduct.
The resource industry welcomes discussion regarding further practical measures in these areas, but any further efforts to improve on the status quo must be properly managed and include training and educational support.
The suggestion that the Fair Work Commission take responsibility for bullying complaints by ‘helping quickly’ through ‘early intervention’ is misplaced.
State-based inspectorates and courts, where appropriate, should address bullying allegations.
If existing protections against bullying need improvement, the Commonwealth and states should use the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to consider a more effective approach.
Fair Work Australia is an administrative body, not a court. The Fair Work Commission is an industrial relations tribunal still suffering reputational damage over the HSU investigation saga.
‘Helping quickly’ and ‘early intervention’ in the HSU matter would have prevented the loss of union members’ funds and a drawn out investigation that, by most accounts, a mid-tier auditing firm could have concluded in months rather than years.
Further, the Fair Work Commission’s six-year timeframe to bring an adverse action claim against an employer, combined with its unfair dismissal regime, leads employers to pay ‘go away money’ as their only pragmatic defence. Extending this into bullying would not help fix the problem.
In short, an ineffective industrial relations tribunal stacked with ex-union officials is neither an appropriate nor competent vehicle to address OHS issues such as bullying.
Education and training to change workplace cultures and conduct is the most appropriate way to address workplace bullying, not artificially mixing industrial relations with OHS.
Click here for a PDF of the media statement including media contact.
