Uniform Industrial Relations Laws Across Australia

ABN members have regularly identified the complexity and contradictions between state and federal IR laws as a real issue affecting small business.  According to today’s “Australian” newspaper, the Government has taken steps to address this situation, with  a uniform national industrial relations system, including identical federal and state laws covering most workers, planned to be in place by 2010 if a blueprint being considered by the Rudd Government is approved.

Details of the plan have not yet been made public, but the concept has already kicked off a lot of controversy, with its proponents hailing it as a great step forward; and its opponents seeing it as destructive to small business.

Here’s a link to the story and readers’ comments: http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,23106193-421,00.html

The ABN will be writing to the Deputy Prime Minister about this initiative, on behalf of our 20,000 strong community.

We need YOUR input to ensure our correspondence is truly representative – so please post below to let us know your thoughts about the potential impact of uniform IR laws on your  business - or call me on 0439 908 108 to register your opinion – the more comments we receive, the more accurately we can represent our members’ opinions and concerns!

Susan McGrath

National Special Projects Manager (Public Policy and Advocacy)

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Susan Wareham McGrath - McGrath Career Management Susan Wareham McGrath is the owner of McGrath Career Management, a national career consulting and HRM agency. She is also General Manager of McGrath Migration Lawyers, one of Australia’s longest established corporate and individual migration advisory firms, which has assisted thousands of businesses and individual clients since its inception in 1983. Because we can expect to work for at least 45 years, Susan believes we should make our careers work for us, rather than working as wage slaves just to pay the bills. And as the owner of two businesses herself, she is passionate about supporting other small business owners to get their HR and recruitment processes right the first time! Susan is tertiary qualified in psychology and human resource management, holds a post graduate qualification in public policy development and is a nationally accredited trainer. She is a strong advocate for the personal and professional development of women, and she is an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. Email: susan@susanwareham.com Website: www.susanwareham.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/Susan_McGrath Blog: www.susanwareham.com LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/susanwmcgrath Member Profile: See Susan’s Member Profile