After extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign by the Franchise Council of Australia, led by former Liberal Small Business Minister Bruce Billson, the Turnbull Government earlier this year delayed a vote on a bill to prevent worker exploitation.
Now the Coalition is in negotiations in the Senate, and the bill reportedly hangs in the balance. From The Canberra Times:
Amendments that threatened to weaken a bill to protect vulnerable workers from underpayment and exploitation were under “delicate” negotiation on Tuesday night.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash proposed amendments to clarify technical legal aspects of the legislation while Liberal senator David Leyonhjelm and former Liberal Party senator Cory Bernardi pushed amendments that threatened to water it down.
While the conservative senators tried to narrow the scope of the liability of franchisors for the conduct of franchisees, who underpaid their staff, Labor and the Greens proposed amendments to expand that liability.
Senator Leyonhjelm said it was clear 7-Eleven head office was responsible for the business model that led to franchisees underpaying staff. However, it was not so clear in the case of other businesses that needed greater protection.
He said his amendments would help ensure franchisors were not held accountable unless they were genuinely responsible for the conduct of franchisees…
Fairfax Media understands it is unlikely the federal government would support the Leyonhjelm/Bernardi amendments because they would dilute the bill. However, the government is said to be in “delicate” negotiations to ensure its bill would be passed…
The Labor Party and Greens were also opposed to the Leyonhjelm/Bernardi amendments.
Employment spokesman Adam Bandt said the attempt by the two conservative senators to narrow the liability of franchisors and “to weaken workers’ rights is nothing new”.
“The bill should put more responsibility on head offices, not give franchisors more ways to wriggle out of legal liability,” Mr Bandt said…
Labor also proposed reversing the onus of proof from employees having to prove underpayment to employers having to provide evidence of correct payment. It also proposed extending the reach of the bill to make franchisors liable for underpayment by labour hire companies.
Labor’s employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor said the vulnerable workers legislation was “seriously deficient and manifestly inadequate”.
“If the government does not support Labor’s amendments they will be exposed and will fail to stop workers being ripped off,” he said.
This bill needs to be finalised quickly. It’s been two years since the 7-Eleven migrant worker scandal first broke, and since then there has been a regular flow of stories emerging about the systemic abuse of Australia’s various migrant worker programs.
The issue was also highlighted in all of its hideous glory when the Senate Education and Employment References Committee released a scathing report entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, which documented the systemic abuses of Australia’s visa system for foreign workers.
The sad reality is that there are now entire business lines, firms and sectors across Australia whose business models rely heavily on the systematic undermining of wages and, worse, running virtual slave labour.
We have seen this in service stations, fast food, convenience stores, agriculture, building, mining, accounting, IT, engineering, education, transport, the gig economy and no doubt it is even more widespread.
The whole system is ripe for reform.
