Humphries Misleads Assembly On Australian Workplace Agreements

Wayne Berry - Opposition Spokesperson on Industrial Relations

Media Statement - 8 August 2001

Labor Shadow Industrial Relations Minister Wayne Berry has accused the Territory's Chief Minister of misleading the Legislative Assembly in the application of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) in the ACT public service.

Responding to a question Mr Humphries told the Assembly today that AWAs in the ACT public service were 'entirely voluntary'.

"Yet examples of advertisements for ACT Government positions state clearly:

• 'Terms and conditions will be regulated under an Australian Workplace Agreement.'

"About the only thing voluntary in this is that the prospective employee can take the job with an AWA or leave it," Mr Berry said.

"AWAs are instruments of secrecy which have no place in an open and accountable public service. They are so unpopular that the Liberals have resorted to compulsion to force workers onto these agreements.

"On top of this the Workplace Relations Act requires at section 170VPA that:

• 'the employee genuinely consented to making the AWA'

"The attempt to ensure there are more AWA's by making them a condition of employment hardly leads to an employee giving the genuine consent which is required by the Workplace Relations Act.

"In a feeble attempt to portray AWAs as popular, even though only 2% of the ACT public service has them, the Chief Minister has misled the Assembly," Mr Berry concluded.