BRENDAN TREMBATH: The nation's industrial watchdog has begun action in the Federal Court against the formerly Labor, now independent MP Craig Thomson, stemming from his time as the national secretary of the Health Services Union.
The general manager of Fair Work Australia Bernadette O'Neill says she hasn't taken the action lightly, but believes it has a reasonable chance of success. Mr Thomson says he's innocent.
The Federal Court proceedings are beginning as the Federal Government moves to overhaul sections of the Fair Work Act to address employer concerns about vexatious unfair dismissal claims.
Lexi Metherell reports.
LEXI METHERELL: Fair Work Australia finished its investigation into the the formerly Labor, now independent MP and former HSU national secretary Craig Thomson in March. It's now pursuing Mr Thomson in the Federal Court, for 37 alleged breaches of the duty imposed on officers of registered organisations and 25 alleged breaches of union rules.
Mr Thomson denies the allegations and has again said that Fair Work Australia's investigation into him was inadequate.
CRAIG THOMSON: It's really a bit of a joke that taxpayers' money is going to be wasted again. We saw that they had such little confidence in the original report, of which this action is being based, that they spent $400,000 getting KPMG to review everything about the findings. And KPMG found that everything that they looked at was, was not good. They completely discredited the report.
LEXI METHERELL: But the Opposition's industrial relations spokesman Eric Abetz says the 193-page statement of claim filed in the Federal Court contains even more allegations than Fair Work Australia's initial investigation.
ERIC ABETZ: That's a very important fact given that Mr Thompson has sought to discredit the Fair Work investigation in claiming that it had been discredited.
LEXI METHERELL: Separately the Federal Government has released its response to the review of the Fair Work Act. The IR Minister Bill Shorten has welcomed the response he's received so far from the unions and employers.
BILL SHORTEN: Certainly I get the impression - and people will be free to speak for themselves - they agree with 90 per cent of what we're doing. It's all subject to seeing what the drafting, the words actually say, that there's more support than not for this first package of reforms.
LEXI METHERELL: The key changes he's announced include moves to protect employers against vexatious unfair dismissal claims.
He says the Government will introduce legislation in the next sitting of Parliament to allow the industrial umpire to force people to pay costs if they pursue unfair dismissal claims without merit. Applicants will also have to provide more information about their claims and the time limit for lodging claims will be extended from 14 to 21 days.
Small businesses have welcomed the changes,
PETER STRONG: For us it's the first step in changes that we want and it's a good step.
LEXI METHERELL: Peter Strong is the executive director of the Council of Small Business.
PETER STRONG: The fact that costs can be awarded against either party I think is a very good thing. In the past what we've been concerned about is that the employer has been considered guilty until proven innocent.
LEXI METHERELL: The Opposition's Eric Abetz says while the Government should have gone further, the Opposition's broadly supportive of the Minister's announcement.
ERIC ABETZ: Labor have finally acknowledged that there are a huge number, there is a huge number of vexatious claims being made in relation to unfair dismissal that need to be cut out.
LEXI METHERELL: The Fair Work Act review recommended changing Fair Work Australia's name to include the word 'commission' and remove the 'Fair Work'. Bill Shorten says it will probably be Fair Work Commission.
That's not acceptable, says Eric Abetz.
ERIC ABETZ: We are saying that the name should be 'The Australian Workplace Relations Commission' or something of that nature without the Orwellian Labor Party propaganda name of 'Fair Work'.
LEXI METHERELL: The president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Ged Kearney is more concerned with the battle ahead.
GED KEARNEY: Those amendments that have been made, they are largely technical in this first tranche and will be subject to further clarifications around the legislation. We are far more interested in the things that are to come.
The ACTU is absolutely committed to the fact that we don't want to see changes to the Fair Work Act, that mean that arbitration is made available to only the top end of town and not to the low-paid workers. And we will not accept any changes that diminish workers' access to collective bargaining arrangements and any that make it easier for employers to go back to a WorkChoices-style of legislation that was based mainly around individual workplace agreements.
LEXI METHERELL: Pleasing all parties when it comes to industrial relations is no easy feat and the Government still has two-thirds of the review's 53 recommendations to respond to.
Bill Shorten says getting the right outcome will take what he's called relentless consultation.
BILL SHORTEN: Whilst some would like me to move in one direction more quickly - or some would like me to move in another direction more quickly - everyone accepts this is a government who's consulted well. There was no criticism of that and we'll just trying to achieve that most elusive of industrial relations creatures - the win-win
LEXI METHERELL: The Minister says the progress negotiations will determine when the Government's second response to the Fair Work review is released, but he's hoping it will be out early next year.
BRENDAN TREMBATH: Lexi Metherell.
EDITOR'S NOTE (22 October 2012): The original broadcast item incorrectly described Craig Thomson as a Labor MP. While he was elected as a Labor canddiate, he requested to have his membership of the party suspended on 29 April 2012. He sits in the House of Representatives as an independent.
The full story...
Plan to overhaul Fair Work Act
Lexi Metherell reported this story on Monday, October 15, 2012 18:10:00
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- Fair Work begins court action against Thomson - ABC News Online reports
- Read the Fair Work Australia report
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