Many people across Australia are hurting because of unfair labour hire practices, says the Member for Macarthur, Dr Mike Freelander.
“I am hearing stories about workers being sacked and offered their job back at reduced pay and young people being locked out of the housing market,’’ he says.
“Too many labour hire workers are being treated like second class citizens, with lower wages, worse conditions and no job security.”
Mr Freelander says that if Labor wins the next federal election a Shorten Government will establish new laws to tackle unfair labour hire practices.
It will do so after talking to labour hire companies, host employers, unions and other stakeholders on the legislative scheme and transitional arrangements.
The policy will not affect small businesses using labour hire companies to source workers on a temporary basis or to deliver specialist skills.
“We will legislate to ensure that workers employed through a labour hire company received the same pay and conditions as people employed directly,’’ Dr Freelander said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Labor’s new policy is based on a simple principle: if you are doing the same job, you should get the same pay.’’[/social_quote]
While there are workers who like the flexibility that labour hire provides, Dr Freelander said too often it’s used purely as a mechanism to pay workers less, or to deprive them of conditions and security.
“Labor has listened to the concerns of workers in Macarthur and have taken action to build a fair labour hire industry that helps businesses meet their needs, while protecting workers,” he said.
The Member for Macarthur said the announcement builds on Labor’s strong plans to improve the pay and conditions of working Australians, including examining the definition of “casual” work by setting an objective test for deciding when a worker is “casual”.
