Senate rips IR laws to pieces

A WEAKER industrial relations bill passed the Senate on Thursday after a chaotic back and forth between the government and crossbench.

The federal government was forced to accept just one of five components making up its industrial relations omnibus bill — a redefinition of “casual work” — after failing to secure enough upper house support.

Employers would not be forced to back pay $1bn in permanent entitlements for regular casuals, but in return casuals would have stronger rights to convert their work to permanent employment.

The definition was the only part of the omnibus bill that was not scrapped by the government following a chaotic morning in the upper house.

A raft of industrial relations reforms was thrown into disarray after crossbench senators signalled they would veto most of the bill.

The passing of the laws hung on the support of Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff.

But Senator Griff on Thursday morning revealed he would only support the parts that would strengthen protections against wage theft and provide clarity for casuals.

However, this was on the condition that the Coalition support the amendment.

Several minor parties moved amendments to the proposed legislation, creating a headache for the government — which knew several of its proposed changes to enterprise bargaining, award simplification and the greenfield agreements were dead.

The government also canned new laws that aimed to stop wage theft, a move that was slammed by the nation’s peak trade union.

In a surprise development, Centre Alliance senator Rebekha Sharkie slammed Senator Griff’s vote and said it went against their agreement.

“My colleague and I had agreed that we would only support two parts of the omnibus bill and only if both the business community and the unions were in agreement,” she said. “Those parts related to the definition of casual workers and harsher penalties for wage theft. Those amendments did not pass and consequently Stirling voted in a manner that I do not support.”

Earlier in the day, Council of Small Business of Australia CEO Peter Strong and ACTU secretary Sally McManus announced they had reached an agreement on all elements of the bill related to casuals.

Speaking as voting in the upper house was under way, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said if the bill did not get up “I will send them other job-making initiatives they can support”.

The gutted bill will go back to the house for approval.