World news – Casual work, officially defined for the first time since the Labor Relations Acts were passed

The federal government was forced to abandon most of a controversial labor relations law and not negotiate it through the Senate.

The only measure in the sweeping bill that was successfully passed was the legal definition of casual labor to Avoid holding companies liable for potentially billions of dollars in back payments.

Employers will also be forced to offer casual workers either permanent part-time or full-time work after 12 months of regular shift – but Labor and the unions argue that the provision is unenforceable.

The government was in negotiations with Senate Crossbench all week but came up largely empty-handed.

It had tried to make sweeping changes in areas such as corporate negotiations, Simplification of awards and wage theft.

The elements of wage theft in the bill were particularly popular and received widespread support among the parties. However, the government decided to cut them out of the bill as soon as it became clear that most of the changes would not come through.

Acting Minister of Labor Relations, Senator Michaelia Cash, said the government was ready to make changes that needed to get the most critical part of the law passed.

« Today, as a government, we recognize that we don’t have the numbers in the Senate, » she said.

« To pass laws we have to negotiate , and I thank again those in Crossbench who have negotiated openly and constructively with the government. « 

However, some Crossbench members, such as Center Alliance Senator Sterling Griff, were concerned about the decision to revoke the provisions Eliminate wage theft.

The creation of the bill was an attempt to define casual labor, and after months of working on the collective bill, almost everything is left.

Ge Casual work had not previously been legally mandated until federal court ruled last year that anyone who does « regular, safe, ongoing, constant, and predictable » shifts is entitled to full-time entitlements.

It sparked fears that corporations could be liable for billions of dollars in repayment without a new definition – even though they pay their employees an occasional vacation charge.

The bill defines casual worker as someone who offers work without a « steadfast, forward-looking commitment » on ongoing opportunities, and eliminates that Risk of repayment.

The ACTU and Council of Small Business had provided an alternative and more specific definition of casual work in a rare demonstration of unity between the unions and the employers’ group.

It was eventually adopted by Labor and used as a Amendment introduced, but rejected in the Senate.

Tue Employers will also be forced to offer their casual workers full-time or permanent part-time work if they have been working regular shifts for 12 months.

The final bill will allow employees to dispute disputes on these matters in small claims courts before the Federal or state and territorial courts.

The government passed the bill in the Senate on Tuesday, with the aim of getting it passed before the end of this week.

If it weren’t over this week, concerns would be that it would, according to Senate estimates and The May budget could not be dealt with until June.

The original reforms would have meant that part-time workers – if they and their employer agreed to the change – could take on additional work at their usual pay without having to change their regular working hours .

Employers could have asked to offer biennial wage agreements to workers who failed the « all in all better » test in « limited circumstances ».

The government said this should help coronavirus-affected companies but was eventually scrapped before the bill was introduced due to significant setbacks.

Companies responsible for large « greenfield » projects could hire workers for a term of up to eight years.

The government was forced to hold the debate on the law off to be able to vote on it early Thursday.

Senate union leader Penny Wong said that this move, combined with the gutting of most of the bill, has shown that the government has lost control of the Senate.

« The Senate sees the consequences of a government in crisis and is trying to enforce this legislation » she said.

« Trying to save some pride by passing a bill that you will, at your own discretion, exempt for not having the numbers. »

In Recognizing the possibility that the government could withdraw the bill altogether, ACTU and the Council of Small Business previously jointly asked to reach an agreement.

The two groups put together a joint set of amendments to which they agreed had reached an agreement and dealt with a number of the more controversial measures of the draft law.

The measures would have tightened the definition of casual work, forced arbitration if employers and employees did not agree to a transition to permanent part-time work after 12 months – or full-time work and all repayment concerns allayed.

Peter Strong of the Council of Small Business said they just wanted some security for casual workers.

« What we’re hearing is it’s all or nothing is. Well that’s just crazy, that means you don’t get anything.

We recognize the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Australians and traditional administrators of the countries we live, learn and work in.

This service may receive material from Agence France-Presse (AFP ), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service, which is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced.

AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, 10 hours before GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)