Factsheet 4
Replace the award safety net with just five minimum
conditions
Important changes coming July 1 2005
The Howard
Government has said it will use its new Senate powers to take away many of your
basic rights at work.
The Government wants to replace
awards with just five minimum conditions.
Though many people
don’t realise it, almost all working Australians currently enjoy the
protection of a strong award system.
Most of the pay and conditions we
take for granted are guaranteed in State or Federal awards.
Around 1.6
million Australian working people rely only on awards to protect all their pay
and conditions. Millions of others employed on agreements have relied on awards
to underpin their basic rights and conditions.
Mr Howard has said that
workplace agreements – both individual and collective – will no
longer be based on awards.
Instead they will only have to satisfy five
minimum conditions, which will be the same for all industries and all
jobs.
The new minimum standards will be a minimum hourly rate of pay
(currently $12.75), 10 days sick leave, 4 weeks annual leave, unpaid parental
leave and a maximum number of weekly working hours.
The important rights that will no longer be protected by awards include:
- wage rates based on skill levels
- limits on when you can be required to work
- overtime pay
- weekend or night work rates
- work related allowances
- annual leave loading
- redundancy pay
A number of important conditions will also be
taken out of awards completely: conditions like skills based career structures.
And the Government wants to completely
abolish State awards, which cover half the Australian workforce.
Without
award conditions, many working people will be forced to negotiate with their
employer for even the most basic rights and conditions they currently take for
granted.
Download Detailed Table of Proposed Changes
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For more information call the ACTU Hotline on 1300 362 223.