CCI maps out IR reform plan

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has released a policy paper that spells out a major revamp of Australia's industrial relations system.

CCI chief executive James Pearson said Australia must move on from the adversarial and conflict models of the past, including the current Fair Work system.

Its proposed model focuses decision-making at the enterprise and comprises 11 key elements.

The number of modern awards is reduced from 122 to 20 industry awards.

It expands the range of agreements negotiated at the enterprise level including collective, individual, greenfields and multi employer types, all subject to a better-off-overall-test to provide employee protection and guard against coercion.

The proposed system allows employees to choose who should represent them in the agreement bargaining process, and permits industrial action only if it is taken in relation to agreement bargaining.

Unions would only gain entry to a workplace if they were covered by an agreement related to the site or enterprise.

A simpler unfair dismissal process has also been proposed, where employee claims are resolved by an inquisitorial process that tests merit, not an adversarial court like approach that is prone to commercial settlements.

"By re-regulating the labour market, the Fair Work legislation has simply replaced one complex regulatory framework with another and continues to stifle incentives for enterprise bargaining," Mr Pearson said.

"The current approach imposes a high compliance burden without delivering the flexibility that Australian employers need to encourage innovation and lift productivity."

The CCI policy paper - Industrial Relations for Modern Enterprises - can be read at http://www.cciwa.com/Discussion_Papers.aspx#23620