Pauline Hanson’s One Nation appear to be considering a deal with the Morrison Government to support the IR Omnibus Bill, if true this will result in permanent and devastating loss of rights, job security and pay for working Australians.
The Morrison Government’s IR changes are a total capitulation to big business and will hurt working Australians.
It is reported that One Nation support most of the Government’s proposals on casual workers that would strip rights from casual workers which have been won by miners in Queensland, creating a class of permanent casual workers with no annual or sick leave, with the empty promise of a permanent job which cannot be enforced.
It is also reported that One Nation will wave through changes to bargaining giving big business even more power in a system which is stacked against workers. It would remove the right of working people to have new agreements explained to them clearly and in a language they can understand. It would make the already difficult task of winning pay rises even more difficult.
On Greenfields the Government’s proposals would seriously hit workers in Queensland working on remote projects giving them no way of resolving workplace issues with the worlds biggest multinationals. The Government’s legislation will make workplaces which already struggle with appalling rates of injury and suicide even less safe.
Polling conducted for the ACTU this week shows that almost a third of One Nation voters in Queensland would be less likely to vote for the party again if it supported the Omnibus Bill.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus,
“Supporting this Bill would be a shocking decision, working people want to know that law makers are on their side and have the guts to stand up to the Morrison Government and big business.
“Last year, at the height of the pandemic, the Morrison Government was thanking essential workers for risking their own health and keeping the country going, now they are kicking them in the guts. Instead of protecting and supporting the countries workers, the Government is hurting them.
“We call on Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, and the remaining cross bench Senators to have the integrity and strength to stand up for working people and say no to the Bill.
“This Bill will hurt workers, hurt the economy and make it harder for working people to get back on their feet after the pandemic.”
