He says the proposal will have devastating effects on businesses and jobs
Attorney-General and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has slammed the Victorian government’s plan to provide paid sick and carer’s leave for casual and insecure workers, saying the move will have a devastating impact on businesses and jobs.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Tuesday that the state government will allocate $5m for a “secure work pilot scheme” aimed at providing five days of sick and carer’s pay at a national wage for casual or insecure workers in sectors with high rates of casual employment.
Among those who may be eligible are aged-care staff, cleaners, hospitality personnel, security guards, and supermarket workers.
The scheme is set to begin in late 2021 or early 2022.
Porter said the federal government understood that the industrial relations system is currently facing tough challenges, which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Victorian government’s proposal raises a number of major issues.
“The central problem with the Victorian proposal is it seems to start with a small, government-funded pilot and intends to finish with what would be a massive tax on Victorian businesses, who would be forced to pay for both a 25% additional loading in wages to compensate for casuals not receiving sick leave and then having to pay for an industry levy to fund sick leave as well,” Porter wrote in a media release.
He also asked: “After Victorian businesses have been through their hardest year in the last century, why on earth would you be starting a policy that promises to finish with another big tax on business at precisely the time they can least afford any more economic hits?”
Porter said the industrial relations ministry has been working on a better solution, which would give casual workers more opportunity to gain permanent full-time or part-time employment.
