Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Trades Hall applauds Victorian Government’s pledge to protect Public Sector Workers

The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) applauds the Victorian Government’s pledge to protect the current award wages and conditions of the Victorian Public Sector, from the new Federal Workplace laws.

Assistant Secretary Nathan Niven said, "As an employer of 254,000 workers’ Premier Bracks is to be congratulated for today’s announcement. The proposed Federal Workplace laws puts in jeopardy the hard won and well deserved entitlements, such as Long Service Leave, which originated when States were just Colonies."

Mr Niven added, " While today’s announcement is good news for Victoria’s public sector workers’, the need for the State Government to ensure it’s workers’ are not left worse off demonstrates the vulnerable position of workers’ in the private sector. Who will come to the rescue for Private Sector workers’ when Howard and Costello slash their working conditions from 20 minimum conditions to just 5 minimum conditions?"

Mr Niven noted the AIRC section 501 wage review, for Victoria, which on Friday 29 July passed on the Federal Award Safety Net Review outcome into Victoria and stated" How is it that just as the Victorian Minimum Wage Orders, (VMWO’s) with their 5 conditions of employment, easily the worst conditions in Australia become obsolete, with the introduction of Common Rule Federal Awards, they could re-emerge as the National standard of employment regulation?"

"The introduction of the VMWO’s by the former Kennett Government was such a disastrous experiment that all parties, Unions Government and Employers, agreed that a comprehensive approach was preferable, said Nathan Niven. "How is it then that Kennett’s test-tube has ended up in Howard’s hands?" asked Nathan Niven.

For further information, please contact:

Nathan Niven, Assistant Secretary - 9662 3673


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