News Release

HOWARD'S ATTACK ON LOCAL WORKERS' THIS AUSTRALIA DAY

26 January 2007

This Australia Day the Makin Your Rights at Work community campaign is holding a free community information session to urge local residents to think about what kind of working future they want for themselves and their kids.

John Howard's - and now new Liberal candidate Bob Day's - unfair Industrial Relations laws take away public holiday conditions for a lot of Australian workers.

Tim Palmer, Your Rights at Work Community Campaign Coordinator says -

"According to the government's own research 40 per cent of individual agreements have dropped public holidays and 27 per cent of new individual contracts have altered public holiday payments."

"The public holiday in Australia is at the core of the Australian values of fairness and family and John Howard and Bob Day think these values are dispensable."

"Families are concerned about the effect these laws will have now and they are also worried about what these laws will mean for their children's future."

"It is vital that local workers and their families consider what these laws will mean if there are not as many jobs around in the future.  If the job market tightens, employers will be able to play off workers against worker, meaning reduced pay and fewer rights."

"Our message to local workers and local business is that workers' rights at work are fundamental to a healthy Australian economy and set in the values of Australian society.  We are calling on all local businesses to ensure that all of their workers get the following basic rights :

• the right to fair public holiday pay and conditions

• the right to bargain collectively at their workplace

• fair dismissal laws that protect and balance the rights of employers and employees

• decent protections of minimum pay and employment conditions

• the right to stop work without fear when their health and safety is endangered

• removal of excessive and harsh fines, penalties and jail sentences for individual employees.

"Public holidays could be a thing of the past for our children in a more competitive job market.  This is a fight for fairness in the workplace now and it is a fight to make sure workplaces are fair for our kids in the future."

"In the time the IR laws have been in place people are feeling less secure in their jobs and there has been an attack on the pay and conditions we all rely on."

The 'Makin Change'  Your Rights at Work community group will have an information stall at Paddy's Market (1181 Main North Road, Pooraka (all weekend.  Come and meet the team and access the free information available.

"2007 is a federal election year and our community group will be working hard to get the message out to workers and their families that they deserve their rights at work and they can vote to change these laws", Mr Palmer says.