Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland says 85 per cent of local business surveyed are concerned about Federal changes to industrial relation laws

Transcript

NT Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Ireland says 85 per cent of local business surveyed are concerned about Federal changes to industrial relation laws · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now the federal government Center PC industrial Relations legislation appears
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: set to pass the Parliament this week federally, with support
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: secured from key cross bench Senator David Pocock. Now. The
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: government says that this bill is going to help push
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: wages up. However, the bill has been opposed by some
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: major employer groups who argue that the changes are going
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: to burden businesses with lengthy and complex negotiations and increase
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the likelihood of industrial action. Changes have been made in
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: order to get the support of the Greens and Senator Pocock,
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  Speaker 1: and the changes do aim, it's being reported, to ensure
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: that smaller businesses are not unfairly wrapped into agreements that
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: are not suitable for them. And an annual review of
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: support payments such as job Seeker is also going to happen.
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  Speaker 1: But what exactly do these changes look like and what
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  Speaker 1: do they mean for businesses here in the Northern Territory. Well,
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  Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now is the CEO
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  Speaker 1: of the Chamber of Commerce, Greg Island.
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  Speaker 2: Hi Greg wanting Katie Happy Monday.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Happy Monday, Greg, There is a lot happening and well,
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  Speaker 1: these changes, what exactly is being proposed under these industrial
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: relations laws.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they're quite complex laws, Katie, and all business over
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  Speaker 2: employing over twenty people. There's a significant amount of complexity
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  Speaker 2: that needs to be worked through. And the problem is
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  Speaker 2: that that's going to be very expensive for business to
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  Speaker 2: comply with, and that business can be forced to adopt
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  Speaker 2: a number of workplace changes without them actually being involved.
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  Speaker 2: So it's pretty significant risk for business moving forward.
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  Speaker 1: And I know that the federal government has said that
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  Speaker 1: this isn't going to impact smaller businesses, and presumably they're
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: saying that based on the number of employees. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: when you look at a lot of our hospitality businesses,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of retail businesses, plenty of them would have
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: more than twenty employees that are casual. I'm assuming.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: That's exactly the case, Katie. It's twenty sounds like a
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  Speaker 2: lot that it is a barrier that's easily breached in
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  Speaker 2: the current climate. And as we I guess, look to
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  Speaker 2: move forward through to our forty billion dollar economy by
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  Speaker 2: twenty thirty, you're going to see a number of businesses
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  Speaker 2: across that threshold. So they might not be impacted right now,
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  Speaker 2: but it's going to come by suspect now I.
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  Speaker 1: Know that the legislation seems pretty hard for most people
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  Speaker 1: to wrap their heads around. As you said, it's very complex.
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  Speaker 1: But what are the changes going to mean for businesses
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. Does it mean Is it
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  Speaker 1: going to mean that they're going to employ less people
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  Speaker 1: to try not to be impacted.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's very likely to be an outcome, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: The Chamber here in the territory is surveyed our members,
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  Speaker 2: as have pretty much every chamber around the country. Locally,
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  Speaker 2: we found it about eighty five percent for businesses were
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  Speaker 2: exceptionally concerned about these changes to the requirements, and that
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  Speaker 2: looks like resulting in about seventy five percent of them
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  Speaker 2: either employing less people, changing the way they do business,
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  Speaker 2: investing more automation to have less and some are even
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  Speaker 2: saying that they'll close their doors. So look, it is
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  Speaker 2: a potential significant concern, and I think the main thing
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  Speaker 2: is that you effectively lose control of your workplace through
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  Speaker 2: this multi employer bargaining requirements. You can be forced into
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  Speaker 2: that a third party will set those rules and you
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  Speaker 2: just have to comply. The business knows it's business best
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  Speaker 2: and it should be the one setting those local requirements.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. So, Greg, obviously the chambers, like you've said, you've
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  Speaker 1: already surveyed members and they are raising some really serious
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  Speaker 1: concerns here by the sound of it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, And everyone gets lumped into the same basket.
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  Speaker 2: So if you're in a competing industry with another player
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  Speaker 2: who's similar size to you, all of a sudden, you're
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  Speaker 2: both being dictated exactly the same workplace conditions. It reduces
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  Speaker 2: the ability for business to be competitive and it certainly
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: makes it very very difficult to negotiate anything with your
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  Speaker 2: own employees, which I think is a bad outcome.
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  Speaker 1: Greg. How many territory businesses completed that survey that you
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: guys conducted.
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  Speaker 2: We were around about thee hundred mark. We only had
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  Speaker 2: it open for a few days, so I'm quite well
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  Speaker 2: responded to. I spoke recently to the of the Western
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Australian Chamber on very similar survey and they had about
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  Speaker 2: three hundred and fifty respondents, so their sizes size pools
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  Speaker 2: probably about ten times out, so I was pretty comfortable
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  Speaker 2: that that one hundred respondents was a pretty good sample.
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  Speaker 1: Well, one hundred respondents in a few days is a
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  Speaker 1: good sample, and if what they're saying is that they've
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  Speaker 1: got really serious concerns. It sounds as though it's a worry.
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  Speaker 1: What do locals need to be aware of? If there
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  Speaker 1: are businesses listening this morning who are thinking, look, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not one hundred percent sure how this is going to
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  Speaker 1: impact me, what do they need to be aware of?
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  Speaker 2: Look, as we keep saying, it is very complex and
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  Speaker 2: it really does depend on quite a number of conditions
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  Speaker 2: within your business. There will also be some influencers outside
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  Speaker 2: your control. So what I would certainly recommend for people
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  Speaker 2: is to contact the Chamber. Our workplace relations team will
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  Speaker 2: be able to assist with answering some of those careers. Initially,
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  Speaker 2: given that the legislation's got through yet and some of
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  Speaker 2: the details and fully clear and obviously from us, we
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  Speaker 2: would suggest that business who aren't Chamber members become Chamber
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  Speaker 2: members and will be there to support them.
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  Speaker 1: Are they annoyed that this is being pushed through as well?
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  Speaker 1: Before Christmas?
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  Speaker 2: The whole thing has been very much rushed through, So
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  Speaker 2: part of our advocacy, and you probably saw some of
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  Speaker 2: our media, was to actually take a bit more time.
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  Speaker 2: There are some clearly some elements to this legislation that
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  Speaker 2: should be pushed through reasonably quickly and there is no
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  Speaker 2: issue with a lot of that requirement, but some of
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  Speaker 2: this detailed multi employer bargaining agreement stuff has just been
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  Speaker 2: shoved through this particular of the process and didn't need
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  Speaker 2: to be certainly taking more time.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Greg Island, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory, always appreciate your time. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: so much for having a chat with me this morning.
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  Speaker 2: No worries, Katie.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Thank you