HANSARD EXTRACT
| Adjournment:
Welfare to Work |
| 31 October 2005 |
Mr HAYES
(Werriwa)
(9.00
p.m.)—I
take the opportunity to make some comments on the recent statements
by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations when he
finally came clean about the extent of this government’s agenda on
the ABC Television Insiders program a week ago. I refer in
particular to the following comments:
We don’t make any excuse for this. We believe that the best form of
welfare that a person can have is to have a job.
He went on to say:
Getting a foot in the door in a labour market is much more important
and useful for that person than any dependants he or she might have.
I must admit that I was pretty shocked at this frank admission by
the minister. It became pretty clear early on on that Sunday morning
that this government is not about providing training and support for
those moving from welfare to work. It became clear that there is no
intention to provide the support services required, such as
affordable child care, for those making the efforts to move from
welfare to work. It was abundantly clear that this government’s idea
of welfare reform is to make sure that you are forced to take a job
no matter what the wages and conditions are. This might sound
attractive to some people at the moment, but the attitude will soon
catch up with the rest of the work force. It may not be immediately
obvious to many, but the problem with supporting such an approach is
that it sets a new low benchmark for employment practices within
business.
As people are forced onto AWAs undercutting established award rates
of pay and conditions, what chance does a new employee have of
negotiating better terms and conditions under such an arrangement?
However, the world according to this government is pretty clear. As
the minister said:
The greatest bargaining power people have got today is a shortage in
the workforce.
Of course this is true for people who are in positions where there
is a demand for their skills. Sadly, a work force shortage does not
of itself create a demand for just any labour, and I am sure the
minister would be aware that the work force is not homogeneous. It
is the fact that labour is not homogeneous and that labour is not
perfectly substitutable that blows a gaping hole in this
government’s plan to shift people currently receiving welfare
payments onto any job no matter what the arrangements are.
My electorate has a relatively high proportion of people who receive
either disability support or parenting payments—approximately 11 per
cent—and they fear this government’s agenda. They know that they
will be worse off once the combined impact of the industrial
relations and welfare changes are felt. These people have almost no
bargaining power. The current skills shortage and associated demand
has not helped them find work so far, and the introduction of a
system under which they are forced to take anything that is offered
to them is certainly not going to put them in a position through
which they can get ahead. These are among
Australia’s most vulnerable people and they essentially will have no
real protection from exploitation. They will be presented with no
choice: either they take what is offered or they lose their income
support.
When you start to consider the operation of these policies, it is
little wonder that the member for
Macarthur recently removed a large sign advertising the location of
his office in Campbelltown. Clearly he is afraid that people will
find out where his office is and ask him to defend the government’s
position on industrial relations and welfare reform.
I make no apologies for standing up for the rights of employees who
want to protect their working conditions and entitlements as well as
for those who deserve to be treated with dignity as they try to
enter the work force. Encouraging people back to work needs to be
about more than simply slashing wages and forcing the unemployed to
accept a job no matter how bad the offer is. The attitude of this
government is pretty clear: beggars cannot be choosers.
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