The ALP has announced its Industrial Relations Policy for the federal election. Details of the policy can be found at Australian Labor Party: Forward With Fairness - Policy Implementation Plan Features of the ALP Policy include:

• Rights of workers to collectively bargain with their employer will be restored and strengthened.
• The industrial umpire will be restored as Fair Work Australia. This body will be able to assist in facilitating enterprise bargaining and in dealing with disputes. It will replace the AIRC.
• Restoration of unfair dismissal rights for all Australian workers. For workers in small businesses employing less than 15 workers these rights apply after 12 months.
• No more AWAs. A Rudd/Gillard government will ensure that AWAs are scraped going forward. However, workers who are already on AWAs will continue to be covered by the AWA until it expires.

The MSAV and VPA welcome the ALP’s policy which will overturn WorstChoices and restore workers rights to take action if unfairly dismissed, to collectively bargain with their employer, to have disputes dealt with by a neutral umpire, to not be forced on to AWAs and to have minimum award rights protected.

We particularly welcome Labor’s policy that where more than 50% of employees want to be represented in bargaining by a Union, then the employer must enter into negotiations for a collective agreement with the Union and the employees.

Under WorstChoices the Howard government have effectively given employers the capacity to veto collective agreements. All the choices and all power under Howard and the Liberals rest with the employer.

While welcoming the policy as effectively ‘ripping up Workchoices’ there are elements of the ALP’s policy which we find disappointing.

We would have preferred to see the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission continue and to be strengthened. The AIRC has a long history, having been established in 1904. However, it has been a very flexible institution and has not just sat in the capital cities but has heard matters in regional areas. I have appeared before the AIRC in places ranging from Tweed Heads and Albury in NSW, and Hamilton and Geelong in Victoria, as well as in Sydney, Melbourne and other capital cities. The problem with the Commission is the restriction on its powers under Howard’s WorstChoices. Like any institution, the AIRC is only as good as the legislation which underpins it. Given the powers which Fair Work Australia will have, it should be a worthy successor to the AIRC.

We think AWAs should be abandoned for all workers who are currently on AWAs as soon as the Rudd government is elected. Workers forced on to unfair AWAs should have their award rights restored.

We think all award conditions should be protected, not just a minimum 10 conditions.

We don’t think that high income earners (over $100K pa) should lose access to award conditions and protections.

We think it unfair that workers in very small businesses are effectively on a 12 month probationary period.

We think that the Union’s right to enter workplaces and speak to employees should be strengthened.

For the ACTU’s view go to Labor policy an important step towards better rights for working families, says ACTU - Australian Council of Trade Unions

We will provide further comparisons between the IR policies of the major parties in a later Stat Report. Certainly if you want to vote for Your Rights at Work, then the old mantra of ‘putting the Liberals last’ applies.

Next week we will look at the IR policy of the Greens.