Industry has given a mixed reaction to the federal government’s plan to amend unfair dismissal laws to bring the Fair Work Act up to date.
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten met union and business representatives of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council this morning to advise them of Labor's first response to a review of the act released in August.
The government now plans to draft legislation this year to support 17 of the council's 51 recommendations, the most important of which concerns unfair dismissal laws affecting small and medium-sized business.
"We are able to announces changes which will streamline the unfair dismissal system, which don't compromise the fundamental rights of people who have been mistreated to make a claim and which will clean up some of the vexatious behaviour at the margins," he said.
The government will impose a uniform time limit of 21 days for lodging unfair dismissal and general protections claims, shifting from the current limits of 14 days and 60 days, respectively.
Claims that are without merit may be dismissed, and persons making claims that don't have a strong case will have to bear the costs.
"The current system's good, but we're going to make it even better," Mr Shorten said.
The minister said some workplace issues before the council which met in Melbourne remain in dispute, including greenfields agreements and access to arbitration.
"I won't say to you that everyone agreed with everything that I've just gone through in this meeting," Mr Shorten said.
"Certainly, I get the impression they agree with 90 per cent of what we are doing, subject to seeing what we are drafting."
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the government’s response was useful, but it does not address the most important issues in industrial relations.
"The big priorities for the Fair Work Act Review were widely identified by the Australian Industry Group and other major industry representatives,” Mr Willox said in a statement.
“They included more tightly defining the issues which can be the subject of bargaining claims, stopping unions holding employers to ransom over greenfields agreements for new projects, implementing a more effective framework for Individual Flexibility Arrangements, and fixing the poorly drafted general protections and transfer of business laws.
"The first tranche announced today does not deal with any of these vital issues and this is very disappointing.
"The unions cannot be given a veto on these most important amendments which are essential for the Australian economy and the preservation of productive and competitive workplaces.”
Peak retail industry body, the Australian Retailers Association, was more supportive of the reform.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said the changes would assist small business and restore the balance between employers and employees.
“While it’s in everyone’s interests to have robust unfair dismissal laws in place, it is reasonable to expect vexatious claims to be actively discouraged which will stop wasting the time of good employers and Fair Work Australia,” Mr Zimmerman said.
“As with most major employer groups, the ARA sees these changes as a positive, but would like to see further changes and improvements.”
Mr Shorten said there was "more support than not" for the government's first package of reforms.
He did not rule out any of the other recommendations of the Fair Work review.
Labor's Fair Work Act, introduced two and a half years ago, replaced the former coalition government's Work Choices regime.
