Protecting workers

March 2011
Protecting workers
The promise of Labor is that workers can pursue individual prosperity, but do so fairly,
equitably and safely. It is the reason for our party’s creation, and it is at the core of our
values to this day.

That is why we are proud of our achievements in industrial relations; being a champion for
workers but also ensuring a level playing field for employers that allows them to be flexible,
productive, and grow our economy.

We have shown that we can create a strong economy while protecting a fair go for all.

We have shown that workplace laws can achieve a balance the rights and obligations of
employees, employers and unions.

We have shown that workers need never choose between work and a fair go.

That’s why we campaigned so hard against WorkChoices legislation.

That’s why we are protecting the rights of workers in NSW, especially the most vulnerable;

That’s why we are ensuring NSW retains the toughest Occupational, Health and Safety
laws in the country – because every worker deserves to come home safely to their family.

We have provided a fair deal for transitional workers, with the introduction of a portable
long service leave scheme – allowing some of the State’s lowest paid workers to access
long service leave for the first time.

We have made sure that victims of domestic violence receive support through special
leave arrangements.

And by introducing new public holiday laws, we have ensured that all workers have the
right to spend holidays with their families, or to be rewarded
appropriately should they choose to work.

In all these things we are taking the oldest principle of Labor – a fair
go for workers and their families – and applying it to the needs of
today’s communities.

And this policy outlines how we will continue apply this principle of
fairness, through positive, practical measures that support the
workers of NSW.
What this policy means for you

This policy will continue to help workers enjoy a better work/life balance.

A re-elected Keneally Government will ensure that vulnerable workers are afforded the
best possible protections so they are not underpaid, harassed or exploited.

We will continue to support New South Wales private sector employers and their
employees previously covered by the state industrial relations system move into the new
national industrial relations system.

Finally, we will continue to protect our public sector workers by retaining the Government’s
“no forced redundancy” policy.

ACTION:
Protecting our most vulnerable workers

„ Deliver a portable long service leave scheme for all cleaners in NSW from 1 July 2011

Ensuring victims can access leave when experiencing domestic violence

„ Develop guidelines to support the recently introduced domestic violence leave clause
into awards for public sector employees to access 5 days additional leave when they
are experiencing domestic violence

Improving work/life balance

„ Ensure that Easter Sunday will be a public holiday from 2011, and there will be a
guaranteed additional weekday public holiday when Christmas Day, Boxing Day or
New Year’s Day fall on a weekend
„ Prevent stores from employing staff where retail trading restrictions apply, for example
on Christmas Day or Boxing Day
„ Give workers in Local Government the option of taking their long service leave at half
the pay for double the length of time

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 2

Valuing our public sector

„ Retain the Government’s ‘no forced redundancies’ policy

„ Legislate to remove the statutory bar prohibiting a public servant from challenging
matters relating to either an appointment or a failure to appoint to a Public Service
position on discrimination or victimisation grounds

Keeping workers safe

„ Maintain our strong OH&S framework and protect employees to ensure they come
home from work safely to their families each day - this includes maintaining the reverse
onus of proof and a union’s right to prosecute

Compliance and training

„ Continue our comprehensive compliance and education programs in the workplace,

including programs to raise awareness amongst young workers, migrants, women and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 3

Labor and Industrial Relations
Only Labor will continue to lead the way in developing “best-practice” workplace laws
through a cooperative, consultative approach that encourages best practise in industrial
relations, occupational, health and safety and provides fair and reasonable terms and
conditions of employment.

In the last six months we have introduced legislation to:

ƒ Provide for the clear and consistent determination of public holidays in New South
Wales, particularly for days of significance that occur on weekends, and we have made
Easter Sunday a public holiday. The new Public Holidays Act delivers predictable and
transparent provisions for public holidays.

ƒ Protect the rights of staff in exempt stores to freely elect whether they wish to work on
a restricted trading day. We have prevented retailers requiring staff to work in a shop
that is required to be closed for retail trade, taking deliveries, stacking shelves or
conducting a stocktake of goods to be sold.

ƒ Establish a portable long service leave scheme for the commercial contract cleaning
industry that will recognise service to the industry rather than a single employer,
providing this entitlement to many cleaners for the first time.

ƒ Ensure that a principal contractor will be required to retain sufficient money to cover the
claim being made by the claimant against the respondent without requiring the
subcontractor claimant to go through the courts under the Contractors Debt Act.

ƒ Remove the statutory bar prohibiting a public servant from challenging matters relating
to either an appointment or a failure to appoint to a Public Service position on
discrimination or victimisation grounds.

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 4

Our Record
LABOR
„ The Keneally Government has delivered
on its commitment to working families
with the passage of a number of vital
industrial relations reforms through State
Parliament.
„ Guaranteed workers a weekday public
holiday when Christmas Day, Boxing
Day or New Years Day falls on a
weekend and recognised Easter Sunday
as a public holiday in NSW from 2011
„ Provided employees with the right to
refuse to work if the shop they work in is
allowed to open on a restricted trading
day. Workers have the choice of
spending public holidays with their family
and friends or working for additional
penalty rates
NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011
OPPOSITION
„ The NSW Liberals are yet to come up
with an Industrial Relations policy.
„ Last year, shadow treasurer Mike Baird
revealed the Liberals’ secret plan to
destroy the NSW workers compensation
program – and stop covering workers
travelling to and from work.
The Opposition is planning to
overhaul the scheme if it is elected
next March.
“We would look at every measure
and remove all unnecessary imposts
and costs,” Mr Baird said.
For example, the Opposition would
investigate whether employers
should have to cover staff for their
journey to the workplace.
(page 4, Lisa Murray, Australian
Financial Review, June 23, 201)
„ A Public Service Association report ahs
identified 25,000 public service jobs at
risk from Barry O’Farrell.
5
„ Delivered a portable long service leave
scheme for cleaners who had been
unable to accrue long service because
they are often employed from one
contract to the next through no fault of
their own
„ Protected the rights of sub-contractors,
giving them access to speedy, low-cost
resolution of disputed claims for work
they performed
„ Allowed public servants to challenge
matters relating to their employment on
discrimination or victimisation grounds
NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011
„ Barry O’Farrell has been taking advice
from former Victorian Jeff Kennett, Peter
Costello and he’s already lined up Max
Moore-Wilton as a key advisor, the man
who cut 11,000 jobs when John Howard
made him head of the Federal public
service. Ken Baxter, Jeff Kennett’s top
adviser who cut 35,000 jobs from
Victoria’s public service and Gary
Sturgess – the man who replaces health
workers with robots – have also been
providing the Opposition with advice.
6
Protecting our most vulnerable workers

There are approximately 44,000 workers in the New South Wales commercial cleaning
industry. Few, if any, have access to long service leave.

Most cleaners are engaged by a consecutive series of unrelated employers and are
unable to accrue the requisite ten years continuous service with a single employer despite
working in the same building, school or shopping centre for ten years and often longer.

We have legislated to establish a portable long service leave scheme for the commercial
contract cleaning industry that will recognise service to the industry rather than a single
employer and this will begin on 1 July 2011.

These new laws will allow cleaners who have faithfully worked in the same, school,
hospital or office building for a number of years to seek extended respite from a labour
intensive and demanding work environment, and will enable them to better balance their
work and family responsibilities.

ACTION:

„ Deliver a portable long service leave scheme for all cleaners in

NSW from 1 July 2011, allowing some of the State’s lowest paid
workers to access this entitlement for the first time

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 7

Ensuring victims can access leave when experiencing
domestic violence

The NSW Government has also introduced a domestic violence leave clause to give
workers an additional five days of leave per year if they are subject to domestic violence.
We acknowledge the importance of women being able to maintain their job if they are
experiencing domestic violence. We recognise the security and focus it provides.

However, we also know that it is difficult for women to go to work and participate fully in
office life in these circumstances. That’s why we have introduced a domestic violence
leave clause into public sector awards so that public sector employees experiencing
domestic violence can easily take some time off, knowing they have a job there waiting for
them.

This leave acknowledges that most people who are experiencing domestic violence have
already exhausted all their leave options. The additional five days will allow women to find
alternative accommodation, either in a refuge or with Housing NSW and ensure that they
have the financial capacity to remove themselves from such an environment.

ACTION:

„ Develop guidelines to support the recently introduced domestic

violence leave clause into awards for public sector employees to
access five days additional leave when they are experiencing
domestic violence.

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 8

Improving work/life balance

The NSW Government has declared Easter Sunday a public holiday from next year. This
will ensure that NSW employees who are requested to work on that day will have rights
and protections under the National Employment Standards.

In addition, the Act guarantees workers a weekday public holiday when Christmas Day,
Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fall on a weekend. Formalising these arrangements
delivers a better work-life balance and gives workers, especially in the service and retail
sector, a real choice as to whether they work on public holidays.

We have also prevented the practice of some retailers requiring staff to work ‘behind the
scenes’ in a shop that is closed for retail trade, but doing work preparatory to trading, such
as taking deliveries, stacking shelves or conducting a stocktake of goods to be sold.

These changes allow employees to freely elect whether they work or spend time with their
families and friends. It reflects the changing patterns of work, which see many people
working across a seven-day roster.

A re-elected Keneally Government will allow Long Service Leave to be taken at half pay
for double the time in Local Government. This gives workers in Local Government the
option of taking an extended period of leave, allowing workers to enjoy time off with their
family and friends.

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 9

ACTION:

„ Ensure that Easter Sunday will be a public holiday from 2011, and
there will be a guaranteed additional weekday public holiday
when Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fall on a
weekend
„ Prevent stores from employing staff when retail trading
restrictions apply, for example on Christmas Day or Boxing Day
„ Giving workers in Local Government the option of taking their
long service leave at half pay for double the length of time, or
double pay for half the length of time.

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 10

Valuing our public sector

NSW Labor greatly values the contribution of the hundreds of thousands of public servants
who work across this State. We recommit to our policy of “no forced redundancies” across
the Public Sector which gives employees the security they need while guaranteeing to the
people of NSW that essential services will not be cut.

Section 22 of the Public Sector Employment Management Act has been used as a bar to
prevent public sector employees bringing action against appointments based on
discrimination grounds, including victimisation for union activity and in the area of re-
deployment following a restructure.

We have amended the Act to remove the bar to actions based on the grounds of
discrimination. This will provide employees in the Public Service with greater certainty that
they won’t be overlooked for promotion and that an avenue is available to appeal a
decision should discrimination have occurred.

ACTION:

„ Recommit to our policy of no forced redundancies

„ Legislating to remove the statutory bar prohibiting a public servant
from challenging matters relating to either an appointment or a
failure to appoint to a Public Service position on discrimination or
victimisation grounds

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 11

Keeping workers safe

The harmonisation of occupational, health and safety laws in Australia has generated
some concern. There is a fear that this process could result in a watering down of OH&S
laws in NSW.

At present if someone dies on the job in New South Wales the onus is on the employer to
prove they did everything in their power to stop it. Under the proposed national laws, it will
be up to government inspectors to prove whether management was responsible. On top of
this, unions will be prevented from launching prosecutions against employers who neglect
safety in the workplace. This Government has and will continue to oppose any measures
that seek to take away the rights of workers under the NSW OH&S Act.

ACTION:

„ Maintain our strong OH&S framework and protect employees to

ensure they come home safely from work to their families each
day. This includes the maintenance of the reverse onus of proof
and a union’s right to prosecute

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 12

Compliance and training

We understand the importance of protecting rights and responsibilities and ensuring

businesses are competing fairly and complying with industrial legislation. Since 1996 the
Government has returned more than $53 million in underpayments to everyday workers
and their families.

This year we are investing $23.7 million to ensure employers and their workers are well-
informed about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace – and that everyone is
given a fair go.

ACTION:

„ Continue our comprehensive compliance and education

programs in the workplace, including programs to raise
awareness amongst young workers, migrants, women and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

NSW Labor | Protecting workers | March 2011 13

 www.kristinakeneally.com.au

Authorised and printed by Michael Lee, 377 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000.