LIBS CONFIRM WORKERS' FEARS BY DODGING IR QUESTIONS

11 March 2011

SA Unions says the Liberal Party's decision not to publicly reveal details of its Industrial Relations policy will send a shiver down the spine of every worker who values their job and their pay.

The Independent Weekly (Indaily, 10 March am edition) reports Liberal Industrial Relations spokesman Iain Evans says his party would not be announcing an IR policy in the state election campaign.

SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says Mr Evans also showed a distinct lack of knowledge of the current industrial arrangements - such as the entire public sector and all of local government is covered by state industrial laws.

"He seems to not understand the difference between the state and federal IR systems and indicated that the SA Liberals IR position would be dictated by their federal masters."

"This means Isobel Redmond's SA Liberals are simply puppets for Tony Abbott and Nick Minchin and their extreme IR views", she says.

"Contrary to what Mr Evans says, we HAVE written to Ms Redmond and asked her to make specific commitments on Industrial Relations, including a guarantee to not reintroduce the discredited federal Liberal WorkChoices regime, a guarantee to maintain protections against unfair dismissals, and a guarantee not to reintroduce individual contracts, which slash take home pay."

"News that the federal Liberals will be controlling state workplace laws should a Redmond government be elected means people's jobs and pay packets won't be safe."

"This is scarily similar to what's happening in Western Australia.  The Liberals there were quite on IR too, until they were elected.  Now they're moving to cut working conditions, slash pay through individual contracts and remove protection from being unfairly sacked."

"We're so concerned that voters are being kept in the dark and won't be properly informed ahead of voting day that we've urgently produced radio advertisements warning people of the danger.

The ads go to air from today, to ensure people realise what a vote for a Redmond Liberal government could cost them," Ms Giles says.