Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): It gives me great pleasure to rise and speak on the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 and to follow the hardworking member for Tarneit. This past year has been one of the toughest in recent memory when it comes to the wellbeing and livelihoods of Victorian workers and our business community. The pandemic has shone a light on the harsh realities still facing too many Victorian workers, whether that be the precarious nature of insecure work, the imbalances in pay and conditions between segments of our labour markets or the pressure points in our industrial system. It has reinforced what we know to be true—that safe, secure and sustainable employment is critical for the economic and social wellbeing of Victorians. As we continue to steam ahead with our economic recovery in Victoria and our plan to create 400 000 jobs by 2025, it is more important than ever that we build on our strong track record of delivering workers protections. It is more important than ever that we do what we can to make sure that the jobs being created are fairer and more secure than ever before.
This bill introduces a number of amendments to seven different acts in order to enhance workers rights and provide financial relief to employers who are doing the right thing. I will get to the detail of these changes in a moment, but before I do I want to say how immensely proud I am to be a member of a party and a government which takes these issues seriously. Here we are in the midst of a global pandemic which has tested us in so many different ways, impacting people’s lives, livelihoods, mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing and social connections, yet here we are seizing this opportunity which is before us not only to rebuild but to reimagine how we do things. Never before has it been more important or more apparent that it is Labor governments that have fought and continue to fight for robust social safety nets, for strong employment rights, for secure work, for freedom from discrimination, for equity and for dignity. We will never stop in that mission, and that is why in the face of the recovery we see before us we also see an opportunity to make our state stronger and fairer.
Here in Victoria we are leading the way when it comes to improving protections for workers and achieving a fair balance between the interests of workers and employers. Successive Labor governments have consistently initiated numerous reforms that send a strong, clear message that we are a government that values and protects workers. Whether it be occupational health and safety, compulsory super, family violence leave, portable long service leave or holding labour hire firms to account, we have been delivering for the people of Victoria. Over the last two years alone I have had the honour of speaking on a number of bills that strengthen workers protections and which have been warmly welcomed by my community, including local businesses. This includes our historic workplace manslaughter laws, the introduction of our provisional payments scheme supporting workers’ mental health, and criminalising wage theft. At every step and every opportunity we have shown Victorian workers that they are valued and that they deserve dignity and security.
Sadly there are those across the political divide—a divide which seems to just keep getting wider and wider—who have consistently sent a very different message to our workers. At every step and at every opportunity there are those who have stood in the way of much-needed reform. They have tried to tear down unions and undermine collective bargaining. They have sought to weaken workers protections and peddled a false narrative that the interests of workers and employers is a zero-sum game. It is not. A fair and safe working environment is good for everyone; it is good for workers, and it is good for businesses.
This bill introduces a number of amendments that relate to workplace protections, entitlements and obligations. Amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and Inquiries Act 2014 will implement recommendations of the Victorian inquiry into labour hire and insecure work, extending the same protections afforded to direct employees to contract workers and to labour hire staff. For example, the changes to the Equal Opportunity Act will ensure contract workers will be protected from detrimental action like dismissal if they ask their employer to modify their workplace to account for a disability, and changes to the Inquiries Act will mean that a contract worker who gives evidence to a royal commission will enjoy the same protections as ongoing workers—pretty common sense.
The rise of insecure work in Australia is a troubling reality. Australia has the third-highest rate of insecure work among developed countries, and we know that people in insecure work are often among the lowest paid. We know that they do not benefit from the same protections as workers in full-time or even permanent part-time work. We know that insecure work disproportionately impacts women, and we know that they were the hardest hit when coronavirus reached Australian shores. In my community of Northcote, this was felt deeply by our hospitality, retail, creative industries, education and training sectors. Many watched in disbelief as the Morrison government excluded tens of thousands of people from JobKeeper in a fundamental lack of understanding about the realities of modern work, leaving countless workers and businesses in an impossible situation. Now, as the end date looms, many are anxious about what the future holds, as they are just starting to get back on their feet. I think we got a pretty clear hint, though, with the federal government’s latest industrial relations bill, which seeks to undermine wage theft protections and does nothing to address insecure work. What a message to send to our businesses during one of the most difficult periods they have ever faced.
In contrast, this bill is delivering sensible, tangible, albeit quite technical, amendments to better support workers and businesses. Changes to the Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018 improve our fantastic portability scheme for the contract cleaning, community services and security sectors. Many of these workers have been on the front line in responding to the pandemic, and I am pleased to see improvements for these sectors on the way. With almost 10 per cent of the Northcote electorate also listing their occupations as community and personal service workers, I know this will be welcomed by Northcote locals.
Amendments to the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 will provide increased flexibility and fee relief for providers impacted by the pandemic, provided they are doing the right thing and meeting requirements like work, health and safety laws. And finally, amendments will be made recognising that from 1 July this year, the Wage Inspectorate Victoria will be constituted as a statutory body, following on from our nation-leading Wage Theft Act 2020.
The pandemic has brought into stark relief the challenges facing workers in Victoria. It has highlighted the dedication and value of our cleaners, community services workers, early childhood educators and countless others who have been on the front line but who are also among the most impacted by insecure work and the least protected when it comes to our industrial system. No other party will stand up for these workers. Labor’s track record is clear, and our commitment has been demonstrated.
Our secure work pilot scheme will provide up to five days of sick and carers pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in priority industries. The two-year pilot will ensure these workers can access sick pay when they are unwell and carers pay when they need to take time to care for someone else. Critically, as we saw too often during the pandemic, it will mean locals will not have to choose between putting food on the table and keeping their co-workers safe. We are also supporting secure employment through initiatives like an expanded Jobs for Victorians and the Working for Victoria program, directly creating sustainable opportunities for those who need a helping hand.
In the 2020–21 Victorian budget we saw a record $619 million invested in providing jobseekers impacted by the pandemic with the information, advice and support they need to get back to work. This boost will create more than 10 000 wage-supported jobs in over two years in Victoria. Critically, it includes $150 million focused on getting women back to work, particularly women over the age of 45—a cohort that we know was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and that faces significant barriers to re-entering the workforce. The fantastic work of Working for Victoria is also making a real difference, with more than 12 000 jobs created since its launch in April last year. And in my home electorate of Northcote, the Working for Victoria program has been a huge success, creating hundreds of new jobs and supporting some great local organisations along the way. Most notably, most recently, it includes social enterprises as well. So this is a bill that we should all get behind. It is about our economic recovery and supporting businesses and workers, and I commend it to the house.
