Tool Box
Issue No. 38 - December/January 07/08
Work Choices in dissaray
by Mr Shayne Bakewell
The model that was meant to make the Australian workplace more flexible, competitive and less bureaucratic has turned into a mess that will need an overhaul, no matter who is in power.
After the original legislative changes in 2006, many businesses embraced Australian Workplace Agreements for the first time. The model was simple enough. Basic minimum standards were put in place and the employer and the employee had absolute flexibility as to how to set terms and conditions of work. The process was straightforward, although the lodgement process for filing agreements with the Office of the Employment Advocate was a paperwork impost.
Hundreds of thousands of new agreements were lodged in 2006-07 as employers became more familiar with the new laws, then the Federal Government changed the rules overnight in May 2007.
A new fairness test was introduced on the run, based on a perceived political risk in an election year.
The changes were ill conceived, confusing...
