Australia passes gutted version of Omnibus bill

The Morrison government has abandoned a crackdown on wage theft after it gutted its own industrial relations omnibus bill, junking provisions on the criminalization of wage theft while passing only limited changes to casual employment. 

“Morrison has shown his true colours by attacking the casual workforce instead of using this opportunity to protect Australian workers and create more secure employment,” said Allen Hicks, ETU National Secretary. 

“It’s a shameful move which further disempowers so many working Australians,” he said. 

ETU said that the laws passed will allow employers to determine who is a casual employee and mean that workers who seek conversion to full-time have no capacity to challenge a refusal in the Fair Work Commission.

However, ETU said that despite the “shameful changes,” the whole of the Omnibus Bill did not pass the Senate. 

“Because of the efforts of unions, working Australians, The ALP, The Greens, Senator Jacqui Lambie and Senator Rex Patrick, we were able to block significant proposed measures. These included the creation of Greenfields agreements which would have allowed workers to be locked into substandard wages and conditions for 8 years and changes to how enterprise agreements are made,” Hicks explained. 

“Thanks to all Australians who stood up and had their say. Because of you we were able to defeat some of the worst elements of this Bill. “We will never stop fighting for the rights of workers, their families and the communities in which they live,” Hicks said.