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Five after school workers in Wirrabara who have lost their jobs because of ridiculous provisions in Julia Gillard’s, ‘Fair Work’ are just the tip of the ice-berg as Australian businesses try to comply with inflexibility and non-productive wage increases caused by the new legislation Federal Member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey said today.
“These kids who travel on a school bus to Gladstone arrive back home at 4.30pm each day. It is not possible for them to work for more than 1.5 hours a day”, Mr Ramsey said. “Julia Gillard’s new Fair Work bill says they must be paid for at least three hours”.
“This is clearly, madness. Effectively it would double their hourly rate and their employers have no choice but to dismiss them. The employer is happy to give the kids 1.5 hours work, the kids are happy to work 1.5 hours, the parents are happy, but the law says they can’t do it”.
“Mr Ramsey said. Business owners were reporting that they are working 12-hour days to try and cover the shifts formerly done by students. Others are no longer trading on Sundays or operating for less hours, because of new triple time loadings. “If a business can’t make a profit on Sundays, why would they open,” he asked.
“This legislation will have huge ramifications for many young Australians.
“It is a real blow for young people trying to get ahead, their ability to earn money, their independence and their first contact with the culture of paid employment.
“This is a classic case of a rigid, union-inspired regime being bad for ordinary Australians. It makes an absolute joke and a complete misnomer of Julia Gillard’s ‘Fair Work’ empire.
“At the other end of the scale, we have fly in fly out workers on $150,000, working on the expansion of the gas industry in northern Western Australia, striking, to force the company to provide personally dedicated dwellings, so they don’t have to store their personal effects when they have their two weeks off and seamen have just been awarded $50,000 wage increases with no productivity gains after union action! The Fair Work bill is taking us back to the days of industrial anarchy” he said.
Mr Ramsey challenged the Rudd Government to amend its “Fair Work” regime to allow more flexibility for young Australians and small business or risk executing the cherished institution of the after-school job.
Media Contact Leonie Lloyd-Smith (08) 8633 1744
February 9 2010
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