Abbott says “no” individual contracts, but experts say other industrial relations changes likely

Industrial relations experts have expressed disappointment about the lack of depth in the Coalition’s industrial relations policy, after the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the party does not support individual contracts.

“We don’t support statutory individual contracts. We did once, but we don’t now,” Abbott said yesterday.

The comments follow division between Abbott and former Howard Government Minister Peter Reith on IR, who has urged the party to take a more hardline approach on the issue and not be spooked by the political unpopularity of WorkChoices.

Industrial relations lawyer and adviser Peter Vitale says the comments are both disappointing and unsurprising, because they suggest the “the Coalition is intending to take a very minimalist and safe approach to industrial relations, and it’s for that reason it’s not surprising.”

“There’s no doubt that this is an exercise in kite-flying. It seems to me that IR is an area that still spooks the Liberal Party, and I’d be surprised if you saw in the short-term any major comprehensive policy on IR.

Fellow IR lawyer Andrew Douglas says the comments are likely a reflection of the realisation that individual contracts caused problems for the Howard Government.

“What does this mean? It says the AWA as they were first instituted by Howard and roundly criticised are no longer,” Douglas, principal at Macpherson + Kelley, says.

Douglas says while the Coalition’s industrial relations are still unclear, given Abbott had earlier this month signalled his support for a return to individual workplace agreements, some policy changes are likely.

“The Coalition has always had problems with good faith bargaining provisions,” Douglas says.

“Historically they have tried to protect small business, so exemptions for small business will likely grow and emerge.”

Douglas also expects the Coalition to try and limit the involvement of unions in workplace negotiations. “I expect we will see deliberate attempt to limit scope of union engagement,” he says.

Douglas is disappointed that the Coalition has not been more vocal on the general protections provisions in Fair Work, which he calls a “dumb piece of legislation.”

Vitale adds that while the Coalition does not support statutory individual contracts, that doesn’t mean they might not open up further opportunities for individual agreements, such as expanding the reach of individual flexibility agreements that currently exist under the Fair Work Act.

“One obvious thing to change would be to make sure they can’t be terminated unilaterally by giving a short period of notice,” Vitale says.

IFAs allow companies to strike individual contracts with workers over start and finish times, overtime rates, penalty rates, allowances and leave loadings.

At the start of the month, Abbott said he wanted to be a “pragmatic problem solver” on the issue of IR.

”I think we ought to be able to trust the businesses and the workers of Australia to come to arrangements which suit themselves. Now, there’s got to be minimums. There’s got to be fairness. But there’s also got to be freedom,” Abbott told Melbourne’s 3AW radio station.

The Government has been responding to calls from business groups for changes to the Fair Work Act by reminding them of a planned review of the laws next year.