It involves a number of “reforms” that clearly increase profits for business and attack conditions and pay for workers, particularly those in casual and insecure work the very workers hit hardest by the COVID-19 lockdowns and those most likely to have been essential workers during that time.
The first bill was carried easily, with the full support of the Australian Labor Party.
The second will face greater challenges as it was not even discussed with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and it ignores the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT).
The Socialist Alliance believes that both pieces of legislation are dangerous and should be opposed.
The
Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Withdrawal from Amalgamations) Bill 2020 removes a legal barrier that prevents union divisions from demerging outside of the current five years after they have amalgamated.
The legislation was initiated at meetings between Tony Maher, the former CFMMEU national president, and federal Attorney General Christian Porter.
The Conversation on December 10 predicted that next year, “Maher’s mining division will be heading out of the CFMMEU; the manufacturing division may follow”.
If Grattan is right, it will herald the end of the 144,000-strong amalgamated union that has been instrumental in building momentum to fight anti-union laws, even before John Howard’s hated 2005 WorkChoices laws.