The Fair Work Act abolished WorkChoices, but there are still some workers for whom it lives on.
In the dying days of WorkChoices, a small number of employers used the window before the Fair Work Act began to lock their employees into non-union agreements with wages and conditions significantly worse than the award.
One of those companies is BRI Security, a contractor that provides security to tertiary campuses in Victoria.
Recently, BRI Security was awarded the contract for the Kangan Institute, a TAFE that has eight campuses in Melbourne and its suburbs.
Fourteen security guards, some of who have worked at Kangan for more than a decade, now face the invidious choice of accepting pay cuts of up to $12,370 a year with the incoming contractor or find another job.
Jess Walsh, the Victorian Secretary of the LHMU security union, said the election eve revelations are a timely reminder of the savage cuts in workers’ wages and conditions that took place under the Liberals and why Tony Abbott can’t be trusted on industrial relations.
“Tony Abbott wants everyone to forget about Work Choices and his passionate support for these harsh and brutal policies,” Walsh said.
“But these guards cannot forget: their choice is to cop a $13,000 pay cut or find another job, thanks to the policies of Tony Abbott and his hero John Howard.
“This week a key IR academic revealed that an Abbott government could easily cut wages and conditions, and remove unfair dismissal protections, without changing the law, simply by amending the regulations.
“This pay cut will have a devastating impact on guards and their families. We are urgently appealing to Kangan Institute to protect the jobs and current pay rate of their loyal and dedicated guards.”
While Mr Abbott has said he won’t amend Labor’s Fair Work Act in his first term, one of Australia’s leading academic experts on industrial and labour law, Professor Andrew Stewart of the University of Adelaide said this week that the Liberals could "comfortably make radical change" without changing the laws.
Professor Stewart, who advised the government on the drafting and structure of the laws, said this would allow workers to surrender penalty rates and overtime payments.
Mr Abbott could also remove the requirement that a company have an objective, valid reason for sacking a worker.
BRI rammed through its unfair WorkChoices-era agreement in 2007, in the dying days of the Howard government, when it reportedly had just ten workers in Victoria.
Rapid growth as a cut-price contractor has seen its workforce increase to 300, who are all stuck on this agreement until 2012 when it expires.
Kangan Institute has campuses at Broadmeadows, Coburg, Essendon, Melbourne CBD, Moreland, Richmond, Craigieburn and Docklands.
Guards working a rotating shift will see their wages fall from $972 per week to $727.19 with BRI while those on non-rotating shifts face an even bigger wage cut.
The agreement strips away key Award entitlements including penalty rates and allowances. It also breaches National Employment Standards for redundancy pay.
Under the Fair Work Act, a new agreement can be made to replace WorkChoices-era non-union agreements, even though the current agreement has not expired.
But industrial action cannot be taken to support that claim until the old agreement expires.
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said it was shameful that under WorkChoices, employers were able to lock workers into these sub-standard deals for many years, with little or no opportunity to escape them.
But he said workers were now protected from these types of agreements under the Fair Work Act.
“We know that employers are pushing for a roll back of these protections if the Liberals are elected on Saturday,” Lawrence said.
“We also know that the Liberals want to wind back unfair dismissal protection, reintroduce individual contracts and cut minimum standards.
“It’s unacceptable that Australians will vote in a few days time without the Liberals releasing a workplace policy.
“Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz are treating voters with contempt by refusing to answer basic questions about what they would do if they gained power.
“Given their track record, working Australians can have absolutely no trust in Tony Abbott and the Liberals.”
Tim Petterson is Media officer for LHMU Victoria
R@W News is a forum for news, analysis and commentary about rights at work and related issues. The opinions presented in R@W News are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent policies or views of the ACTU.