Berry Bill To Protect Job-Seekers Becomes LawWayne Berry - Opposition Spokesperson on EmploymentMedia Statement - 1 March 2000Labor's Employment spokesperson, Wayne Berry's bill to protect job-seekers was passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly today. The new law will protect all job seekers, including those who use the Howard's Government job search agencies which replaced the Commonwealth Employment Service. "This legislation is necessary to ensure that the unemployed are not exploited. The NSW Employment Agents Act 1996 prohibits employment agents from collecting fees from jobseekers and I believe that the ACT's unemployed need the same protection. "The legislation will prohibit job-seekers being charged for what used to be a free service. The legislation essentially mirrors regimes in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. There will now be a new class of agents, employment agents, in the scheme of business regulation provided under the Agents Act 1968. This means that employment agents will be licenced in a similar same way as other agents including travel, business and real estate agents. The independent Agents Board of the ACT will administer the scheme. "In the Howard/Reith climate of exploitation, job-seekers in the ACT need all the protection they can get! "This legislation will protect those who need protection most - women re-entering the workforce; part-time employees seeking full-time work; students; migrants; and people on the six week waiting list for unemployment benefits. Until this legislation these people were offered no protection from unscrupulous agencies. "I could not stand by and see job-seekers unprotected, Labor's new law will provide the necessary protection," Mr Berry concluded. |