Government Forced To Change Employment Policies

Wayne Berry - Opposition Spokesperson on Employment

Media Statement - 9 August 2001

The Humphries Government has denied it changed its policy on AWAs following exposure by Labor Shadow Employment Minister Wayne Berry that compulsory AWAs had been offered.

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

But Mr Berry tabled examples of two advertisements for ACT Government positions which stated 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.

"Caught out Mr Humphries has:

• 'asked staff in my department to examine the wording of the two job advertisements quoted by Mr Berry, to determine whether they use appropriate wording or suggest a misleading position in relation to the voluntary nature of AWAs.'

"And today the wording in the ACT Government Staff Bulletin has changed. The 'will' has gone, replaced by 'may'. It is about time the Government obeyed the Workplace Relations Act.

"It is also about time the Chief Minister admitted that he has been caught out and apologised to the Assembly for claiming that AWAs are 'entirely voluntary'," Mr Berry concluded.