Support industrial relations reform to back mining jobs

Improving the approval process for enterprise agreements – including by accelerating agreements supported by a majority of employees and stipulating how the Fair Work Commission should apply the better-off-overall test – means more consistent approval times for similar agreements, more certainty for employers and faster creation of jobs and wage increases in exchange for productivity gains.

Allowing greenfields agreements of up to 8 years for projects worth AUS$500 million or more will encourage investment in new mining projects by removing the uncertainty of having to renegotiate employment conditions mid-stream.

This reform is good for projects that involve underground mining, minerals processing or more complex project plans, which may take more than 4 years to proceed from construction to execution to completion.

Australia’s mining competitors in the US and Canada have access to enterprise agreements covering the life of a project; yet in Australia all enterprise agreements – including greenfields agreements – are currently limited to 4 years.

The Minerals Council of Australia has identified 31 minerals projects at or above the AUS$500 million threshold that have completed a feasibility study and are actively progressing their plans towards starting construction within the next 4 – 5 years. The combined AUS$31 billion in investment flowing from these projects could create more than 17 000 construction jobs and 11 000 ongoing operating jobs cross Australia.

Extending the option of longer greenfields agreements to nationally significant projects with a capital value between AUS$250 million and AUS$500 million will help unlock additional investment and jobs.

While 85% of mining workers are permanent employees, the government’s decision to define casual employment in the ‘Fair Work Act’ – and clarify the entitlements owing to casuals in national employment standards – is a positive development.

The Industrial Relations Omnibus Bill will reduce uncertainty and inflexibility in workplace relations and make Australia more internationally competitive as a destination for mining investment.

The resources sector directly employs 240 000 people, mostly in regional and remote Australia and average full-time earnings in resources are AUS$144,000/y – 58% above the average for all industries.

The bill is an important step towards a more modern and dynamic workplace relations system.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/11122020/support-industrial-relations-reform-to-back-mining-jobs/