In December last year the Barnett Government released a report containing 193 recommendations to change workplace laws in Western Australia.

The report was written by a former Howard Governmetn industrial relations lawyer and could affect up to 300,000 WA workers.

These changes pose a serious threat to people’s rights at work. If implemented, they will greatly undermine many WA workers and strip away employment conditions that have been hard fought for.

Recommendations in the report include:

• Forcing new employees to sign individual contracts;
• Removing protection from unfair dismissal;
• Stripping back Awards by abolishing many existing conditions contained in them;
• Gutting the independent umpire making it harder and more expensive for workers to access;
• Significantly limiting the content of employment agreements and removing many hard fought for conditions;
• Changes that would intimidate workers into not raising issues, including those relating to workplace safety, with their union.

The recommendations, if implemented, will dramatically shift the balance of power in favour of employers at the expense

of workers and union members. Furthermore, the rights of union members stand to be seriously undermined with recommendations that existing conditions such as delegate rights and leave for union training be banned from inclusion in Awards regardless of whether they may be supported by an employer.

There is also a very real danger that the introduction of WorkChoices style changes and the cutting of minimum standards for public sector workers could make it harder to recruit people in the resource boom and could impact adversely on important public services, including health, education, policing, child protection, mine safety and environmental protection.

Despite having the report for 14 months the Government has not yet said which of the recommendations they will be adopting but statements by Barnett and his Ministers and their previous support for WorkChoices indicate they will be looking to introduce the vast majority.

Help us protect the rights of working West Australians. Visit the No WorkChoices in WA website to find out more, sign the petition and email the Premier. We’ll continue to update you as the campaign progresses.