Calls mount for Fair Work Bill changes

The sharp rise in unemployment has prompted a call from a major employer group for
significant changes to Labor's Fair Work Bill.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (ACCI) warning came as the
opposition intensified its attack on the proposed new laws which are before the
Senate.
In a raucous parliament question time, the opposition also pointed to a fourfold
increase in industrial disputes since Labor was elected to raise the spectre of
union domination under the new system due to begin in January.
But Labor MPs pointed out that except for a ban on new Australian Workplace
Agreements a year ago, Work Choices is still in place.
Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard continued her talks with crossbench
senators, meeting Family First's Steve Fielding on Thursday to discuss his proposed
amendments to the bill.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon's office handled talks on the bill with the South
Australian senator confined to his bed in Canberra with a virus.
The Greens expect to meet Ms Gillard again before the government introduces its own
amendments early next week.
ACCI chief executive Peter Anderson said the jump in the jobless rate meant the new
industrial laws and the proposed emissions trading scheme were "high risk".
"The government's IR policy, designed in good times, now clearly needs moderation,"
Mr Anderson said.
In a bid to buy back into the debate, opposition workplace relations spokesman
Michael Keenan contacted Ms Gillard's office on Thursday seeking a meeting with the
minister to discuss the coalition amendments.
The opposition had begun talking to senators Fielding and Xenophon on common areas
of concern including the unfair dismissal protection for employees in small
businesses and broader union right of entry powers.
Mr Keenan said they would seek a change defining the size of a small business to 25
full-time equivalent staff from the proposed less than 15 employees put forward by
Labor.
"The Rudd government just doesn't get it," Mr Keenan said.
"They are introducing retrograde workplace laws in the middle of the Rudd recession
which are going to put even more Australians out of work."
But Ms Gillard's office was less than enthusiastic about a meeting with Mr Keenan.
"If it is possible to schedule a meeting with Mr Keenan, the minister will seek to
clarify the opposition's position in relation to the Fair Work Bill," a spokeswoman
said on Thursday evening.
But the confusion surrounding the opposition's final position on the bill continued
with leader Malcolm Turnbull dodging questions on whether they would finally support
the bill should their amendments fail.
To make matters worse, backbencher Peter Costello said in a radio interview on
Thursday morning the opposition should not support the bill in its current form.
Mr Turnbull repeated his position from earlier in the week when he said he would not
lock them into a pre-existing position.
"How much clearer can I be? But it is a moving feast and when the feast stops
moving, when we know what the amendments are and the final shape of the bill is,
then we will cast our vote," Mr Turnbull said.
Like the two independent senators, the opposition is concerned about the bill's
proposed right of union officials to enter a workplace and inspect the employment
records of non-union members.
They have accused the government of exceeding its mandate from the 2007 federal
election by widening the right of entry powers.
However, Ms Gillard rejected this, saying the government had consulted widely with
business and other groups in drafting the bill now before the Senate.
"The bill that is in the Senate represents the mandate we have from the Australian
people to get rid of Work Choices," Ms Gillard said.
Ms Gillard said the cross bench senators had always been opposed to the previous
government's Work Choices policy.
"They know Work Choices was bad for working people and they believe there should be
a fairer system that replaces it," Ms Gillard said.
"In that context, we will continue to keep talking."