Senate Inquiry into the Provisions of the Building and Construction Industrial Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2009 (July 2009)
CCI prepared a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Provisions of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2009.
The Bill, if passed, will abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) from 1 February 2010 and replace it with the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate.
The Bill will amend many of the provisions of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (the BCIIA), including repealing the tougher penalties for taking industrial action and placing limitations on the coercive powers.
The submission can be accessed here.
Submission to the inquiry into the Provisions of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009 (April 2009)
While CCI commends the Government’s decision that current agreements will not have a ‘drop dead date’, CCI is concerned that the Transitional Bill imposes further costs and red tape on business and that these costs, combined with the costs associated with the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) will hinder productivity and have a negative effect on employment.
CCI has identified four key areas where the Transitional Bill will directly increase costs for business:
- The interaction of the NES and transitional instruments (the no-detriment rule);
- The interaction between modern awards and agreement-based transitional instruments;
- The ability for Fair Work Australia to make take home pay orders; and
- The interaction between modern award rates of pay and transitional instruments.
The submission can be accessed here.
Australian Fair Pay Commission Minimum Wage Review Submission 2009 (March 2009)
CCI, in its submission to the Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC), recommended that there be no increase to minimum wages in 2009. A copy of the submission can be accessed here.
The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) subsequently handed down its minimum wage decision providing for rates of pay to be maintained at their current levels.
In the decision, handed down on the 7th July 2009, the AFPC listened to calls by employers that an increase in minimum wages would further harm employment which is still expected to rise to 8.5% in 2011. The AFPC also recognised that recent government tax cuts and fiscal stimulus measures had maintained the social safety net.
Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations – Fair Work Bill 2008 (January 2009)
In its submission to the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work Bill 2008 ("The Bill"), CCI raised concerns the Bill contains impediments to efficiency and productivity improvement that are inconsistent with the Government’s stated policy and objectives.
CCI believes that, perhaps more so than ever before, industrial relations legislation needs to support workplaces to effectively deal with constantly changing national and global economic circumstances. It needs to allow and facilitate flexibility in employment arrangements whilst safeguarding all participants from unfair or unnecessarily onerous influences.
The submission can be accessed here.