The employment minister says new guidelines to lift the bar for protections for gig staff is not going to apply to contractors and tradies in building.
Tony Burke mentioned the federal authorities’s plan to set minimal requirements for “employee-like” types of work, together with gig staff, wouldn’t have unintended penalties for unbiased contractors and tradies.
“No one uses Uber electrician,” he advised Sky News on Wednesday.
The minister was responding to a warning issued by Master Builders Australia that it will power unbiased contractors to surrender their companies and grow to be workers.
The trade affiliation mentioned the regulation might essentially harm the mannequin of specialist contract work wanted for constructing and building work, forcing companies to completely make use of unbiased contractors.
Mr Burke mentioned the laws, which continues to be being drafted, would draw clear traces round gig staff and the principles wouldn’t apply to tradies and contractors working small companies.
“The person riding a bicycle delivering a pizza with no say over how much they’re paid, they’re not running their own business,” he mentioned.
The minister addressed a spate of different business group considerations concerning the subsequent spherical of business relations reforms, which would come with the “same job, same pay” definition of an off-the-cuff worker.
Mining large BHP has raised considerations concerning the labour rent crackdown that might value the corporate greater than $1 billion a 12 months and threaten jobs.
Mr Burke mentioned he was unclear how BHP had reached that sum however that the modifications would value mining firms extra money.
“If you’re using a loophole and we take away the loophole, then there’s an additional cost,” he mentioned.
The minister mentioned the deliberate crackdown would cease the follow of bringing in labour-hire casuals and paying them lower than the everlasting staff already on website.
“No matter which way you look at this, this is a rort,” he mentioned.
“If a rate of pay is agreed at a site, then that should be the rate of pay.”
The reforms are anticipated to kick off within the again half of 2023.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
