Employment Minister Tony Burke has failed to win over big business to its crackdown on labour hire despite offering some concessions and the two sides remain at loggerheads over how many workers will be captured by “same job, same pay” laws.
“There will always be a place for labour hire when it comes to surge work, short-term arrangements and specialist staff. This legislation does nothing to change that,” Mr Burke said.“These changes will affect a small number of workers. But for the workers this affects – closing this loophole will be life-changing.”
“It potentially smothers the entire economy, capturing every business that provides workers, services or skills to another company. It is a dagger to the heart of investment in this country.“When you distil these extensive changes to industrial law, you are left with one defining outcome: higher costs for everyone.”, has previously estimated the changes would add about $1.3 billion to its annual wages bill.
Businesses will be banned from taking action to avoid their obligations or prevent an order being made.