The opposition Labor Party is concerned that Australians will face reduced pay packets next summer if proposed changes to penalty rates are passed by the federal government.
However, the federal minister for industrial relations said Labor has “completely and dishonestly” mischaracterised one part of the proposed changes.
“From cleaners to miners, aged care workers to waiters, checkout operators to nurses–all could take a massive pay cut if [Prime Minister Scott] Morrison is successful in suspending the Better Off Overall Test,” Burke said. The better off overall test (BOOT) helps employees know whether they are better off under a bargaining agreement or the relevant award.
Burke’s analysis was made using calculations based on the difference between award-based pay and public holiday pay rates of workers who work a normal eight hour day across all four public holidays.
“Pay cuts are bad for workers and bad for the economy. For Australia to recover from the recession, we need people with the money and confidence to spend,” he said.
BOOT is currently under review by the federal government due to changes to the enterprise bargaining laws introduced by Attorney-general and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter in December.
This means that the commission can approve two-year deals that don’t guarantee all workers are better off, but the approvals are contingent on support from employers and employees. The Fair Work Commission would need to be satisfied that it is both appropriate and in the public interest.
The industrial relations minister has struck down the opposition’s concerns, saying the opposition spokesperson had “completely and dishonestly” mischaracterised one part of the proposed law changes.
“It is a simple fact that the Fair Work Commission already has the power to approve non-BOOT compliant enterprise agreements in very limited and exceptional circumstances, subject to the ultimate safeguard that no such agreement can be approved if it were not in the public interest to do so,” Porter said.
Porter noted that the mechanism to override BOOT had been introduced by a Labor government.
“Labor knows full well that the provision was only for use in emergency situations to help save businesses from collapsing and to prevent workers losing their jobs,” Porter said. "And the reality is that the power has only been used a handful of times over the past decade.
“All the government has proposed is that COVID-19 should be specifically recognised as such a circumstance so that—or a limited time—businesses at risk of failure due to the impact of the pandemic can work with their employees to find a way to keep going,” he said.
