Master Electricians Australia (MEA) has asked the Senate to take its foot off the throat of small business and stop choking job creation.
MEA’s reaction came in response to the opposition by the Labor party as well as minor parties in the Senate to the Federal Government’s proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act.
MEA Manager of Workplace Relations Jason O’Dwyer said the changes were practical and sensible, and did not disturb the objectives of the Fair Work Act.
According to Mr O’Dwyer, these changes should not cause any concern for Australians. The legislation enacts the recommendations from the previous Government’s own expert panel, which sought to address some of the imbalances of the former Government’s changes. The recommendations were made in the shadow of the election and designed to cause as much political pain as possible for the incoming Abbott Government.
The Federal Government’s proposed amendments return the pendulum closer to the sensible centre and are amendments from an expert panel that the former Government chose to ignore.
Mr O’Dwyer said employer groups were disappointed that Labor and the minor parties in the Senate had declared their opposition to the changes earlier this week, without even setting their eyes on the Bill and explanatory notes.
However, by blocking these changes without even looking at them first, the Opposition and minor parties have taken a deliberate anti-business, anti-jobs stance.
MEA asked these Senators to look at the reforms first before making a decision, and consider the genuine advantage that would flow to the economy and the workers as a result of these changes.
