undermine the core principles, and stated intent, of the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide a fair and balanced national workplace relations framework. Transport Workers view these attempts to subvert the Fair Work Act and principles of fairness and balance as further demonstration of a new model of extreme employer militancy in this country. Further to our original submission, we remain convinced that there are areas of potential improvement to the Fair Work Act, we believe the Act to be substantially superior to the WorkChoices legislation it replaced particularly in the areas of general protections – and the abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements, which has contributed to significantly fairer workplaces and genuine choices for more workers. The TWU and supports the submissions and supplementary submissions of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Unions NSW, and TWU state and territory branches. This supplementary submission is made on behalf of the Transport Workers Union of Australia, and is supported by all TWU state and territory branches. COMMENTS ON THE PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW It is that the purpose and intent of the Review, as a post-implementation review, is to consider whether the legislation is meeting its stated objectives and whether those objectives might be achieved in a more effective and efficient way. Unfortunately, many submissions to the Review, particularly those of the BCA, AIG, IPA, and ARTIO as well large employers like Qantas continue to deny the mandate provided to – – the drafters of the Act after the 2007 federal election. It is obvious to the TWU that many of these submissions are crafted in blind pursuit of an ideologically driven agenda, seeking to benefit vested interests and put corporate profits and executive remuneration ahead of workers, fairness, and Australia’s national interest. Despite the Australian people comprehensively rejecting WorkChoices in 2007 as extreme and anathema to the national ethic of the go’, vested interests as represented by the ‘fair BCA and AIG continue to pursue an ideologically driven agenda of employer militancy that would slash wages, conditions, and employment security. Their submissions essentially seek a return to the WorkChoices regime, which wildly tilted the workplace relations system in this country in favor of employers at the expense of ordinary hard working Australian families. On that basis, the TWU contends that much of the evidence cited and assertions made in those submissions could at best be considered disingenuous, when what is central to their arguments is that the Fair Work Act ought never have been drafted.
undermine the core principles, and stated intent, of the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide a fair and balanced national workplace relations framework. Transport Workers view these attempts to subvert the Fair Work Act and principles of fairness and balance as further demonstration of a new model of extreme employer militancy in this country. Further to our original submission, we remain convinced that there are areas of potential improvement to the Fair Work Act, we believe the Act to be substantially superior to the WorkChoices legislation it replaced – particularly in the areas of general protections and the abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements, which has contributed to significantly fairer workplaces and genuine choices for more workers. The TWU and supports the submissions and supplementary submissions of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Unions NSW, and TWU state and territory branches. This supplementary submission is made on behalf of the Transport Workers Union of Australia, and is supported by all TWU state and territory branches. COMMENTS ON THE PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW It is that the purpose and intent of the Review, as a post-implementation review, is to consider whether the legislation is meeting its stated objectives and whether those objectives might be achieved in a more effective and efficient way. Unfortunately, many submissions to the Review, particularly those of the BCA, AIG, IPA, and ARTIO – as well large employers like Qantas – continue to deny the mandate provided to the drafters of the Act after the 2007 federal election. It is obvious to the TWU that many of these submissions are crafted in blind pursuit of an ideologically driven agenda, seeking to benefit vested interests and put corporate profits and executive remuneration ahead of workers, fairness, and Australia’s national interest. Despite the Australian people comprehensively rejecting WorkChoices in 2007 as extreme and anathema to the national ethic of the ‘fair go’, vested interests as represented by the BCA and AIG continue to pursue an ideologically driven agenda of employer militancy that would slash wages, conditions, and employment security. Their submissions essentially seek a return to the WorkChoices regime, which wildly tilted the workplace relations system in this country in favor of employers at the expense of ordinary hard working Australian families. On that basis, the TWU contends that much of the evidence cited and assertions made in those submissions could at best be considered disingenuous, when what is central to their arguments is that the Fair Work Act ought never have been drafted.
transportworkersunion_supp.docx