Award Modernisation Sleeper Issue - our opinion
You are here:'Modern' Awards might come at a heavy cost for employers - and the economy.
For employers paying wages and conditions that are not significantly in excess of the award (or NAPSA) conditions, the current process of Award Modernisation (see earlier News article) could result in some nasty shocks if guidance given by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) so far is anything to go by.
The exposure draft of proposed 'modern' awards issued by the AIRC that will come into effect from 1 January, 2010, show significant increases in penalties in some major industries, including Retail and Hospitality. Whilst the Minister's instructions to the AIRC indicate that there should be no net detriment to either employees or employers from the process, the AIRC has interpreted this very broadly to mean that employee gains in some industries or regions can offset reductions in others.
The next step in the process is for parties to various awards to respond to the AIRC's initial drafts. The award modernisation request requires the AIRC to complete award modernisation in the priority industries and occupations by 31 December 2008.
ERS Comment: if Work Choices was Government policy running ahead of public opinion on labour market reform, we might be seeing an over-reaction by our industrial institutions in wanting to redress the imbalance in the name of making awards 'simple'. Given that Retail (which has been ruled so far to include Fast Food) and Hospitality are amongst our biggest employing industries and look set to cop large increases in labour costs, we can't see how the reductions will be enough to balance the equation.
