Australia Looks Forward To Full Implementation of New Fair Work System
The 111th meeting of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council (NWRCC) held in Melbourne expressed strong tripartite support for Fair Work Week.
Fair Work Week will be held from 4-8 January 2010 and will mark the full implementation of Australia’s new Fair Work system.
On 1 January 2010 the new national system of workplace relations, including the 10 legislated National Employment Standards and modern awards, will commence.
Fair Work Week will raise awareness of the new system and ensure that employees and employers have clear and accessible information about the resources available to help them better understand their workplace rights and entitlements.
With less than a month to go before the commencement of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act), the NWRCC encouraged employers and employees to familiarise themselves with the Fair Work system. NWRCC members agreed to consider activities to support Fair Work Week and assist employers and employees understand the new system.
NWRCC members strongly encouraged employers and employees to take advantage of the free workshops and seminars and information being made available under the Government’s Fair Work Education and Information Program. To date over 1,600 workshops and seminars had been held, with around 2,300 to be conducted over the course of the Program. Information on workshops and seminars is available from www.deewr.gov.au/WorkplaceRelations/newworkplacerelationslaws.
NWRCC also highlighted the range of information and advice on the new workplace relations system provided by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Employers and employees are encouraged to contact the Fair Work Infoline on 131 394, to visit www.fairwork.gov.au and to contact their employer organisation or union.
At the meeting, the Acting Prime Minister reflected on the significance of the Council’s work in support of the Fair Work Act and modern awards, noting their importance in contributing to a more productive national economy while at the same time bringing enduring benefits to all Australians.
The progress achieved to date highlights the benefit of the extensive consultation undertaken between Government and employer and employee representatives on these matters. The National Workplace Relations Consultative Council has met on six occasions since December 2007.
NWRCC noted with approval that the award modernisation process will result in 3,715 state and federal based awards and other industrial instruments being reduced to 122 easy to find and apply modern awards.
Members also welcomed the historic decision of the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council (WRMC) at its meeting on 11 December 2009 to endorse the model work health and safety provisions which now become the WRMC agreed model Act. Safe Work Australia is now developing the model regulations to support the WRMC agreed model Act. The model legislation is on track to be adopted by all jurisdictions by
1 January 2012.
The Acting Prime Minister gave an update to NWRCC members on recent changes to the Fair Work Regulations and Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Regulations. These included changes to: clarify the application of the Fair Work Act to licensed, permit and Australian majority-crewed ships; giving Fair Work Australia power to deal with applications to vary modern awards to give effect to the award modernisation request; and the preservation of competency-based training arrangements for employees to whom those arrangements apply. Further information on these changes is available at www.frli.gov.au.
NWRCC members noted the establishment of the Safe Rates Advisory Group which will build on the National Transport Commission’s review into payment methods and safety in the heavy vehicle industry released late last year. The Advisory Group will develop detailed options to implement those recommendations on a national basis and includes employer and employee organisations, individual businesses, industry clients and regulation and safety experts. Those options, once developed, will be subject to a public consultation process.
Council members acknowledged the international recognition of the success of Australia’s response to the global financial crisis in the World of Work 2009 report, released by the International Labour Organisation on 7 December 2009. The Report identifies the contribution which the Fair Work Act and Australia’s policy responses to the global crisis have made to stimulating job creation, supporting financial markets and targeting support to the most vulnerable in the population in the context of the crisis. Australia is reported as the only developed country to avoid a recession in 2009, and is identified in the report, along with Brazil, as a very successful case study in economic stimulus management.
Topics: Australia, awareness, economic stimulus management, employees, employers, employment, Fair Work Education and Information Program, Fair Work Infoline, Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work System, Fair Work Week, federal based awards, Governance, government, information, jobs, Melbourne, National Employment Standards, National Workplace Relations Consultative Council, NWRCC, Safe Rates Advisory Group, safety, seminars, tripartite support, Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, workplace rights, workplace safety, workshops, WRMC
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