Long Service Leave Scheme To Protect Workers' Entitlements
7th May 2003
Ginninderra Labor MLA Wayne Berry today introduced legislation to protect long service leave entitlements for private sector workers. Mr Berry said, ““The Long Service Leave (Private Sector) Bill 2003 sets up a scheme to collect the entitlements for private sector workers, it is modelled on the successful schemes in the building and construction and contract cleaning industries. It doesn’t increase the long service leave entitlement but it improves access to it.
“Under these schemes a levy is collected from employers for each worker. As a worker becomes entitled to long service leave their leave is paid from the boards funds. Over the years of operation of the building and construction scheme the levy has fallen from 2.5% down to 1% - I anticipate that this will happen with this new scheme.
“The building and construction industry scheme has been in place for over 20 years and serves the community well. The contract cleaning industry scheme was put in place during the last Assembly and workers’ entitlements are now protected.
“We have seen over the last 4-5 years the impact of high profile company collapses such as Ansett, National Textiles and Woodlawn mines – workers left with no entitlements and the taxpayer and travelling public left to foot the bill.
“One example of this was highlighted in the ACT when a local medical centre failed some years ago. Once again workers’ entitlements evaporated. I shared the dismay, frustration and sense of injustice suffered by one of the workers from the medical centre and I promised that I would continue to work to protect workers’ entitlements.
“The Assembly has a proud history over a number of years of securing, improving and guaranteeing long service leave in the private sector. As our private sector grows we need to continue that work.
“The success of the contract cleaning legislation in 1999 led me to discussions with a range of unions covering private sector workers. They all had examples of workers who, because of company failures or commercial contract changes, had missed out on long service leave. It was this consultation that led Labor to promise before the 2001 Legislative Assembly election that it would put in place a new private sector long service leave scheme.
“Late last year I circulated a draft of this bill to unions, employers and Liberal and Crossbench members of the Assembly. Since then I have worked to incorporate amendments suggested as part of that consultation.
“I have been committed over my entire career in the union movement and in this Assembly to improving the lot of ordinary working people. It is with pride that I introduce this bill today,” Mr Berry concluded