ACTU policy package – “A recipe for disaster”

“The ACTU’s proposed policy package and its war against employers is a recipe for disaster not supported by the facts”, said the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting Chief Executive, Jenny Lambert, in response to the address today by ACTU boss Sally McManus.

“Their hostility toward flexible ways of working will place at risk the jobs and options of the very people they claim to be protecting – Australian workers.

“If Australians have anything to fear, it is that the investment and job destroying polices of the ACTU will be adopted – reversing the recent, positive trends we are seeing in the economy and labour market.

”Ironically, the rules they are seeking to change (and break, according to their own statements, if they do not get their way) are the very Fair Work laws the unions themselves campaigned for and secured.

“Yet in doing so they will make employing even more difficult, and make doing business in Australia, which already has minimum wages that are among the highest in the world, even more costly and complicated.

“This old-fashioned fear-mongering style of campaign risks dividing Australian business operators and their employees.  It is out of step with the realities of the modern workplace, where people cooperate and work together to achieve outcomes.

“Our economy and the needs and expectations of our workforce have moved on. This is not the time to add layers of regulation on top of our already complex model of employment regulation.

“The private sector employs 6 out of 7 Australians, with the vast majority of Australian businesses being small businesses. These businesses need to be sustainable and encouraged to grow with the help of an engaged workforce aiming for common goals.

“Calls for Australians to work together are better focused on identifying those policies that will best help us to compete globally for business opportunities and the jobs that come with them, including:

• Affordable and secure energy
• Competitive taxation policies
• A workforce with the skills we need

“If Australians can work together to achieve these outcomes our income and jobs outlook will continue to improve.”