Dutton's comments come after previous vow to review government's labour reforms
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has stated that the Coalition will not repeal the Same Job, Same Pay legislation if they win the upcoming election.
Dutton made the comment following questions from reporters about their stand towards the law, which was passed last year by the Albanese government.
"We're not going to," the Coalition leader said. "I understand the difficulty for some of the companies who are facing already a fairly militant union sector and want reforms but that's our position."
"I think we've made that fairly clear, but we'll have more to say in relation to ways in which we can boost economic activity over the course of this election campaign but that's our positioning in that regard."
His comments came following the Coalition's previous pledge to review the labour reforms of the current government if it won office, The Guardian reported.
But sources from the Coalition told the news outlet that the opposition never promised to repeal the legislation.
According to Dutton, the Coalition's difference on industrial relations policy will be its handling of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU).
"We're going to deregister the CFMEU," he said. "The CFMEU would be a disaster for the Pilbara, the CFMEU would be a disaster across every mining site. You look at what's happening with construction on the east coast at the moment, the CFMEU has the number of days worked on a job site down to 2.9 days. Now, that would kill off mining projects here in WA."
Dutton's comments came following a recent report from the McKell Institute, which unveiled the wage benefits as a result of the Same Job, Same Pay legislation.
According to the report, the annual wage uplift is projected to hit $920.3 million in a moderate scenario, and could likely exceed $1 billion in higher estimates.
It even found that some employers in mining, aviation, and retail industries are already seeing wage growth as a result of the law.
"Closing this loophole has been an important plank in the Albanese Government's changes to get wages moving again, but it is now at risk from Peter Dutton and the Coalition," said Employment Minister Murray Watt in a statement.
"Same Job, Same Pay is already delivering significant wage increases for workers."
