Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I withdraw business of the Senate notice of motion No. 1 standing in my name for today relating to the disallowance of the Fair Work, (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 1) and business of the Senate notice of motion No. 1 standing in my name for 9 November 2011 relating to the disallowance of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 1) as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2011 No.144 and made under the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009. I seek leave to make a brief statement of no longer than two minutes.

Leave granted.

I thank the Senate. On behalf of Senator Sue Boyce, Alex Somlyay MHR, George Christensen MHR, Jane Prentice MHR and Fiona Simpson MLA, who have worked with me on this issue, and the office of the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, Senator Chris Evans, I thank the minister for accepting that there are issues in relation to this regulation that require its withdrawal. That has been recognised graciously by the minister in two letters to me bearing the date of 22 September 2011. I seek leave to table those letters and also have them incorporated in Hansard because they provide the explanation for the withdrawal.

Leave granted.

The letters read as follows—

Office of Senator Chris Evans

Leader of the Government in the Senate

Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations

Senator the Hon Eric Abetz

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Senator Abetz

As you are aware the Government made the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 1) (the Regulations) in good faith to ensure that employees in the social and community services (SACS) sector in Queensland receive and/or continue to receive the benefit of the 2009 Queensland Industrial Relations Commission pay equity decision.

The Regulations were made on 4 August 2011 arid would otherwise commence on 1 October 2011.

As a consequence of matters raised with the Government, including concerns about the employers named and the impact of the Regulation on some providers, I intend to make the attached statement.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

I have copied this letter to the Senator Brown Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Xenophon and Senator Madigan.

Yours sincerely

(Signed)

CHRIS EVANS

22 September 2011

MINISTER FOR JOBS, SKILLS AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

The Queensland Pay Equity Regulations were issued on 4 August 2011 to meet an agreement with the Queensland Government at the time of referring their industrial relations powers, that SACS workers in Queensland would receive the benefit of the QIRC pay equity decision.

The Regulations include a schedule of employers who received additional funding from the Queensland Government following the state pay equity decision. The list was provided by the Queensland Government and confirmed by the Australian Services Union (Queensland Branch).

The Government is aware of concerns by some of those employers and peak organisations in the community services sector about the impact of the Regulations on some providers. Specifically:

The Government is prepared, on a without prejudice basis, to consider those concerns and the impact of the back pay obligations.

The Government will commence a process to engage with the representatives of Queensland SACS providers, the Queensland Government and the ASU over the next few weeks to address these concerns.

To facilitate this, it is necessary that the current Queensland Pay Equity Regulations be repealed and replaced. The Government will withdraw the regulation.

SACS providers and employers in Queensland should be aware that it is the Government's intention to ensure that the current Queensland pay equity rates are paid to SACS workers from the 1 October 2011 as previously advised. This will be reflected in the replacement regulation.

CANBERRA

22 SEPTEMBER 2011

Senator Chris Evans

Leader of the Government in the Senate

Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations

Senator the Hon Eric Abetz

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Senator Abetz

I understand you require additional information.

The repeal of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Amendments Regulations 2011 (No1) (the regulations) will be done by regulation. I intend to lodge the relevant documents with the Executive Council for consideration by the Governor General on the next available occasion.

The repeal regulations will commence on the date of their registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing will ensure that the repeal regulations are registered on 30 September 2011, ahead of the 1 October 2011 commencement date of the existing regulations.

Yours sincerely

(Signed)

CHRIS EVANS

22 September 2011

I thank the Senate. In the circumstances, I indicate that what we were seeking to do was protect a lot of the not-for-profit sector organisations in Queensland. I also provide an invitation to Senator Furner to withdraw the accusations that he made during the adjournment debate about my motivation and that of the coalition in seeking the disallowance of this regulation, given that the government has now seen sense itself. The inappropriate motives that were attributed to us on this side are now shown to be without foundation. There was a genuine issue at stake here. To all those who joined with the coalition in achieving this outcome, I say thankyou. I also say thankyou to the minister for addressing the problem in the manner that he did.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I think it will help if I elaborate on some of the background to this matter for the Senate. In 2009, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission made a pay equity decision that increased wages for employees in the Queensland social and community services sector. The purpose of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 1) was to require Queensland social and community service employers, who received funding from the Queensland government following this decision and who have returned to the Queensland system in the absence of the Queensland referral of workplace relations powers to the Commonwealth, to pay employees in accordance with that decision. The Australian government agreed to this request from the Queensland government and made the regulation using a list of employers that was provided by the Queensland government, we understand, in consultation with the ASU.

The government became aware of concerns of the Queensland social and community services sector about the accuracy of the list of employers and the ability of some employers to meet backpay requirements. After careful consideration, the government has acted on these concerns and will repeal the regulations before they commence on 1 October 2011. The government will commence a process to engage with representatives of Queensland social and community service providers, the Queensland government and the Australian Services Union over the next few weeks to clarify who are the employers required to pay employees in accordance with the Queensland decision and to determine the appropriate point in time from which those obligations should commence. To facilitate this, it is necessary that the current regulations be repealed and replaced. The government will repeal the regulations before they commence. Social and community service providers and employers in Queensland, however, should be aware that it is the government's intention to ensure that the current Queensland pay equity rates are paid to social and community service workers from 1 October 2011, as previously advised. This will be reflected in the replacement regulations.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The Greens have been on the record for a long time supporting the pay equity case for community sector workers, believing very strongly that those workers are an essential part of our community. They deliver absolutely essential services. We have been strongly supportive of that case. We are also strongly supportive of the not-for-profit sector in general. We are concerned about any unintended consequences for not-for-profit organisations. So we want to make sure there are no adverse consequences, while supporting pay equity for the workers, which we believe is essential. We are aware there are some problems with this regulation. The list, in particular, is of concern—the issues around which organisations have received funding from the state government. We are aware the state government has put in $414 million to help with that. So the issue is how to fix the situation, which I am convinced everybody knows and wants to get fixed.

The key part of the announcement here is that workers will be paid as if this regulation took effect from 1 October. In other words, workers will not be disadvantaged by repealing this instrument and then fixing it. Workers will essentially be back paid from whenever this new instrument takes effect. Workers will receive back pay as if this regulation came into effect from 1 October. That is particularly important—in other words, workers are not being disadvantaged by some of the unfortunate errors that have occurred with this regulation.