Federal government to introduce new workplace bill next week
New protections for Australia's gig economy workers are set to be introduced to parliament next week.
Transcript
00:00 Much of this new legislation is focused on the gig economy and we know that work in this
00:06 area has boomed over the last few years.
00:09 It's really become a challenge to traditional employment.
00:14 So the government says they need new regulation to help improve this sector of work and what
00:20 they want to do is create this legislation to class these workers as employee-like workers.
00:26 And so what that will mean as part of this closing loopholes bill is that the Fair Work
00:31 Commission will set minimum standards for things like payment terms as well as insurance
00:37 and record keeping.
00:38 And it will also allow gig workers to appeal to the Fair Work Commission if they feel they've
00:44 been unfairly let go or dismissed by their digital labour platform.
00:48 And if these changes are passed then these changes will kick in next July.
00:54 And the Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says that these platforms,
01:00 these digital labour platforms need more regulation because at the moment the low rates of pay
01:06 are directly linked to safety concerns for these workers.
01:10 He says that it's unacceptable that 13 gig workers have died on Australian roads over
01:15 the past few years.
01:17 He spoke to RN Breakfast earlier this morning.
01:19 Let's take a listen.
01:21 The problem that we've got at the moment is the only question the Fair Work Commission
01:25 asks at the start is are you an employee?
01:28 And if you are an employee there's a whole series of rights that you get.
01:32 But if you're not technically an employee all of those rights fall off a cliff.
01:38 Silas and what does the business community think of these plans?
01:43 The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that they're concerned about what these
01:48 new regulations will mean for business.
01:50 The Chief Executive Andrew McKellar spoke earlier this morning and he says that the
01:55 government hasn't made the case for how these changes will make it easier for businesses
01:59 to employ more people, how it will create more jobs and how productivity in the general
02:05 economy would be improved.
02:06 He says that it's a concern that this regulation is too overreaching and too sweeping and he
02:14 says that it won't necessarily improve safety because the Fair Work Commission doesn't
02:19 regulate on safety.
02:21 And we also know that the Business Council of Australia has been fairly strong in their
02:25 opposition to these proposed changes.
02:28 While the legislation was being drafted they argued that it would make it more inflexible
02:33 for workers who want to enjoy the flexibility that gig work provides and they also say that
02:39 it will push the price of products higher and that price will be passed on to consumers.
02:45 The government is promising that workers will be able to keep the flexibility that they
02:50 enjoy because the Fair Work Commission won't be setting standards on things like overtime
02:55 rates or rostering arrangements and we are expecting to hear more detail from Minister
03:01 Tony Burke when he addresses the National Press Club later today.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]