Reith to tie umpire's hands

Date: 14 May 2000

Labor Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Arch Bevis, today blasted the Government's new industrial relations laws introduced into Parliament last week as biased and divisive.

"The most unbelievable aspect of these proposed laws is that it tells the industrial relations commission that it must give special consideration to employer - whatever happened to the principle of everyone being equal before the law? Mr Reith's proposed legislation directs the Commission to have particular regard to the views of the employer in its decision. Subsection 4 of the proposed definition of pattern bargaining states

(4) In determining, for the purposes of subsection (2), whether entitlements sought by an organisation that is a negotiating party to a proposed agreement in relation to a single business, or part of a single business, are of such a nature that they are not capable of being pursued at the single business level, the Commission must have particular regard to the views of the employer who is a negotiating party to the proposed agreement.

"This legislation is a direct attack on the independence of the commission with Mr Reith now telling the umpire that is must only listen to one side of the debate.

"As with all of this Government's industrial relations legislation Mr Reith has again tried to stack the deck in favour of employers - the principle of a fair go or a level playing field is obviously not one that Mr Reith supports.

"Mr Reith should remember that while justice is blind the Australian people are not and they will clearly see the biased and divisive nature of this piece of legislation," said Mr Bevis.

14 May 2000

P0036

For further information

Contact:	David Tansey
Union:	ALP Federal
Phone:	(02) 6277 4518
Fax:	(02) 6277 8534
Email:	david.tansey@aph.gov.au
WWW:	http://www.alp.org.au

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