AS SHOCKING as industry groups feel the current Industrial Relations Reform Bill 2002 is, the final outcome could be substantially worse.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA spokesman Bob Pride is very pessimistic about the future passage of the Bill.
Mr Pride said changes might be made to get the Bill through Parliament, which could substantially alter it.
But any rewriting would make the Bill worse.
“We are only worried that the changes will make it worse. We think the Greens will make it worse,” Mr Pride said.
Political commentator David Black agrees: “The critical feature will be what the attitude of the Greens is.”
“Really the first level of debate is between the Government and the unions, so it is really within the Labor Party itself. The second battle is going through the Parliamentary process – a process that will hinge on the Greens,” Professor Black said.
The Government cannot pass any Bills without the Greens’ support in the Legislative Council.
The Greens have already indicated that the Bill would be in for a rough ride through Parliament because it did not go far enough to protect employee rights.
