Archbishop of Sydney

Workplace Relations Bill

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
27 November 2005

During this week the Federal Government’s Workplace Relations Bill is likely to be passed by the Senate.

We probably won’t see too much change immediately.  Parliament will continue to sit from Monday to Friday and most will still enjoy holidays at Christmas and New Year.

But these are the most significant legislative changes for workers in 100 years.

Major concerns are that the “no disadvantage” test has been removed so that minimum wage rates can be progressively reduced in real terms, conciliation and arbitration will be limited, entitlements such as overtime rates, penalty rates and rest breaks can be reduced and there will be much less protection against unfair dismissal.

This Bill will increase the “Americanization” of the Australian workplace in some unfortunate ways through its hostility to unions and by further increasing the wage differentials between the very rich and the prosperous (with skills that the market rewards) and those battlers at the other end of the spectrum.

Many years ago I met a Brazilian union leader who claimed that Australia distributed its wealth more evenly (and justly) than any other country.  The fear now is that the middle class is being redistributed into the rich and the poor.

The mythology of “a fair go for all” remains important for most Australians and should not be easily abandoned.  Unions have been important in achieving our present balance of forces and good unions should not be strangled or side-lined.

I don’t want to suggest that the proposed legislation is all bad.  A single set of arrangements across Australia does seem preferable, provided these arrangements are good in themselves.  International competition is growing fiercer.  Hopefully greater flexibility will help us to remain competitive.

Governments and public opinion are always keen to reduce the number of unemployed and excessive wage rates (e.g. for juniors and beginners) can prevent employers from taking on extra workers.  However it is not morally acceptable to reduce the evil of unemployment by allowing wages and conditions to fall below what is needed for a decent standard of living for families.

When the new nation of Australia set a “basic wage” for all its workers in 1907, it was to enable a family with three children to live in “frugal comfort”.  In the proposed legislation there is no such emphasis on fairness.  If this is not to be considered in workplace arrangements, governments still have to see that there are fair minimum standards overall, with an appropriate safety net through welfare support payments, especially in an economic downturn.

There are 687 pages in this proposed legislation, which was prepared in a rush.  Many regulations are yet to appear.  All this makes it very difficult to predict long-term effects.

One important role traditionally for the Senate is to review and improve bills sent from the House of Representatives.

We wish them well this week.