The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has hit back at the PIAA’s criticism of the national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
The PIAA’s director of government relations Mary Jo Fisher last week called on the Turnbull government to repair what she described as the ‘dysfunctional and partisan’ FWC, adding: “The majority of commission members come either with a union or employee-focussed background, or with an ‘appropriate attitude.’”
Lorraine Cassin, AMWU Print Division National Secretary, says the PIAA's campaign is aimed at reducing wages for print workers.
“The views of Mary Jo Fisher have been formed in a bubble,” says Cassin. “I’d encourage her to come and meet print workers to understand their lived experience.”
“The suggestion that the Fair Work Commission is biased towards workers just doesn’t pass the pub test. Workers in the print industry rely on an independent system to give them the chance to argue their case."
“The misinformation being put forward by the PIAA is just a ploy to weaken the institutions that protect workers. The real end game here is to reduce print workers’ wages and conditions.”
Over the next few weeks, Fisher plans to lobby federal employment minister Michaelia Cash and other ministers on the need for changes to federal workplace regulations. “The Turnbull government has sat on legislative change recommendations which the Productivity Commission made over a year ago,” says Fisher.