The Coalition has scored highest in resources industry employer group AMMA's comparison of the three major parties' industrial relation policies.
The Coalition has scored highest in resources industry employer group AMMA's comparison of the three major parties' industrial relation policies.
The Coalition has scored highest in resources industry employer group AMMA's comparison of the three major parties' industrial relation policies.
The Coalition received the highest score, a total of 18 out of a possible 28, followed by Labor with 17 and the Greens with a dismal score of 8 in AMMA's Industrial Relations Policy Scorecard, which rates the latest industrial relations policies of all three major political parties.
AMMA Chief Executive, Steve Knott, said it was disappointing neither Labor nor the Coalition intended to make any changes to the Fair Work Act (FW Act) during the next three years, if elected.
"AMMA has identified, through its members' experiences, serious deficiencies with the operation of the Fair Work Act. Its industrial agreement making options and processes are not conducive to maintaining or expanding workplace efficiencies, which have been achieved in the sector over the past decade of industrial relations reform," Mr Knott said.
"As such, the ability of employers to engage directly with their workforce - where most efficiencies can be gained - is being eroded by the Fair Work Act."
Mr Knott said despite unwillingness to make any legislative changes, the Coalition came out ahead of Labor, due to its commitment to retain the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and the Building & Construction Industry Improvement (BCII) Act. Labor's position is to abolish the ABCC and repeal the BCII Act.
"With a record number of large resource projects either under construction or in their final planning stages, a strong stance on unlawful industrial action in the resource construction industry is essential to Australia's economic interests," he said.
"With respect to the Greens' policy, it does nothing to support either industry generally or the resources sector in particular, and fails to recognise any need for individual arrangements, contrary to the resource sector's needs," Mr Knott said.