Archived News for Human Resource Professionals - July, 2012
The ACTU has called for tougher penalties for employers who do not keep aside funds for their workers’ entitlements, following the release of a report that shows costs of up to $1 billion to workers and taxpayers over the past decade.
ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said there should be tougher penalties for company directors who breach corporations laws, including trading insolvent or failing to make superannuation contributions.
“This is a shocking report – that in the last 10 years, $1billion of workers’ hard earned money has been taken by employers, leaving workers without their entitlements,” Mr Oliver said.
“I would like to hear the arguments against tougher penalties from business and their supporters in the Liberal Party, considering how hard they have argued for further regulations for unions.
“The General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS), which the Gillard Government has promised to legislate this year, plays an important role protecting workers from losing their entitlements due to company mismanagement or illegal behaviour.
“But the GEERS scheme is only intended to be a last resort, and it should not be left to taxpayers to increasingly pick up the tab for poor corporate behaviour.
“The amount of money being covered by taxpayers highlights the important role this scheme plays, but also backs up union calls for greater penalties.
“It should be the responsibility of employers to make provision for workers’ entitlements, and directors who run their companies into the ground with no funds left for workers should be punished. These entitlements have been earned over years of loyal service, and employers have a legal obligation to pay them.
“But all too often businesses go broke leaving nothing in the bank. Frequently, companies treat workers’ entitlements as a kind of unsecured, interest-free loan – without telling the workers and often with no intention of ever paying it back. It is left to taxpayers to come to the rescue. This type of behaviour must be punished through tougher penalties.”
“In recent times, unions have been quite clear that any misuse of workers money by any individual should be fully investigated and punished with the full force of the law.
“Given the Liberal Party’s tough position on this issue, we especially look forward to Tony Abbott’s support for an increase in investigations and tougher penalties for employers who are misusing up to a billion dollars of workers’ entitlements.”
Before the Gillard Government acted to protect workers from losing their entitlements during a company collapse, unions had been campaigning to establish an employer-funded scheme.
“Industry groups have resisted these schemes, but if employers cannot be responsible, they must accept tougher penalties for senior managers who fail in their responsibilities or break the law. This could include forcing company directors to take personal responsibility to cover costs they have failed to meet.
Rio Tinto signs Corporate Education Agreement with UQ
The University of Queensland (UQ) and Rio Tinto have signed a five-year, $2.5 million Corporate Education Agreement that will focus on developing academic leadership, building skills and capability for the mining industry, and increasing diversity levels by targeting female and Indigenous students.
The agreement is part of a Rio Tinto programme that is establishing a network of leading education providers to generate and foster an appropriate expertise base for the resources industries.
The partnership features education initiatives including 39 scholarships, two post-doctoral fellowships, the creation of a new bachelor's degree in geotechnical engineering, and initiatives to increase female engineering enrolments by 15 per cent.
UQ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Terry, said the agreement would build on a strong and long-standing connection with Rio Tinto, and would provide a broad range of benefits.
“UQ applauds Rio Tinto's support for future academic leaders, because it will give recent PhD graduates career paths that encourage them to educate and mentor coming generations of scientists and engineers.”
Rio Tinto Energy Chief Executive, Doug Ritchie, said the agreement brought a strong focus to integrated and practical learning, collaboration on curriculum, improving equity and access to university for a diverse range of students, and would ultimately build a sustainable talent pipeline.
“This initiative is aimed at building skills and capability for the mining industry both now and into the future,” Mr Ritchie said.
“The 39 scholarships, the first of which will be available from semester one 2013, will provide financial support to students throughout their university degrees, access to mining related education, field trips and internships.
“We look forward to helping increase the number of students in hard to fill disciplines such as engineering and earth sciences, as well as increasing the diversity of student intakes.
“This agreement will help provide a healthy talent pipeline into our two-year Rio Tinto global graduate development programme.”
It's the third such agreement for Rio Tinto, which has also set up education agreements with The University of Western Australia and Imperial College London.
Unemployment inches to 5.2 per cent
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.2 per cent in June, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS reported the number of people employed decreased by 27,000 to 11,500,500 in June. The decrease in employment was mainly driven by decreased full-time employment, down 33,500 people to 8,065,500, and was offset by an increase in part-time employment, up 6,600 people to 3,435,000. The decrease in employment was driven by a decrease in both male and female full-time employment.
The number of people unemployed increased by 7,200 people to 631,300 in June, the ABS reported.
Monthly aggregate hours worked showed a decrease in June, down 19.6 million hours to 1,602.1 million hours.
The ABS reported a decrease in the labour force participation rate of 0.2 percentage points in June to 65.2 per cent.
This month's article 'What's new in Labour Force' provides details regarding the impact of preliminary population estimates from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and also the upcoming improvements to the labour force survey as a result of a holistic review of the entire ABS Labour Household Survey program.
More labour force results are in the June 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming June 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) due for release next week on July 19. Both publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.
Diversity crucial to success says Shorten
Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten has addressed the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA), saying that diversity policies and striking a work-life balance are no longer just ‘nice to have’ but are a crucial business imperative.
Fair Work Australia commences review of modern awards
Fair Work Australia has commenced its four-stage review of modern awards, which will address mainly issues raised in applications to vary modern awards.
Flu season the worst in years
The Influenza Specialist Group (ISG) has warned that this year’s flu season is shaping up to be the worst in a number of years, with a particularly virulent strain of the disease seeing the number of people contracting influenza double compared to the same time last year.
FWO releases phoenixing report
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has released a research report into phoenix activity in Australia, which estimates the activity could cost the Australian economy upwards of $3.19 billion.
Tasmania publishes child labour law review
Workplace Standards Tasmania has published the first report of the review into the state’s child labour laws.
Workplace bullying committee hits the road
The Education and Employment Committee, the body charged with carrying out the Prime Minister’s demand for an inquiry into workplace bullying, has announced it will travel to Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart over the coming days to hear from the community.
ANZ tracks falling job advertising
ANZ Bank has published its monthly report into job advertising in Australia, finding that the total number of advertisements on the internet and newspapers has fallen 1.2 per cent in June, on the back of a 2.6 per cent contraction in May.
NSW Opposition launches petition against compensation changes
The New South Wales Labor Opposition has launched a petition against the State Government’s cuts to workers compensation.
Government forms skilled migration council
The Federal Government has formed a new Ministerial advisory Council on Skilled Migration, aimed at providing the Government with expert advice on the role of skilled migration within the Australian economy.
NSR survey shows OHS salaries boom
OHS recruitment specialist National Safety Recruitment (NSR) has conducted a major annual salary survey of the occupational health and safety workforce, finding that the sector attracts salaries of up to 90 per cent above the average national salary.
New board members announced for WorkCover Queensland and Q-COMP
The Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Jarrod Bleijie has announced new appointees to the boards of WorkCover Queensland and Q-COMP.
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WorkCover Queensland is a statutory body that provides and manages workers compensation insurance in Queensland. It is funded by industry and operates as an independent commercial enterprise that is owned by the State Government.
Q-COMP is also an independent statutory authority primarily funded through contributions from insurers. Its role is to oversee and regulate the functions of WorkCover Queensland.
Mr Bleijie confirmed the WorkCover Queensland board would be chaired by former Law Council of Australia President Glenn Ferguson, while the Q-COMP board would be led by Telstra legal counsel Flavia Gobbo.
The new board members are:
WorkCover Queensland
·Mr Glenn Ferguson – Chairperson
·Mr Justin O’Connor – Deputy Chairperson
·Mr Ian Winterburn – Director
·Mr John Crittall – Director
·Mr Ian Leavers – Director
·Mr Barry Leahy – Director
·Ms Melinda Bailey – Director
Q-COMP
·Ms Flavia Gobbo – Chairperson
·Mr Peter Dowling – Deputy Chairperson
·Dr Beres Wenck – Director
·Mr Stephen Tait – Director
·Mr David Harrison – Director
·Dr Simon Blackwood - Director
NSW WorkCover Board backs down on 28% premium hike
NSW employers have been saved from a 28 per cent increase in their insurance premiums following a deciion by the WorkCover Board to leave the target premium collection rate at 1.68 per cent.
Online therapy programs aid depression and more
Online depression therapy programs can have a positive impact on more than just depressive symptoms, a new study from The Australian National University reveals.