Practical, targeted information for business
Julia Gillard
posted Monday, 4 January 2010
The first transitional education visits are being conducted by the Fair Work Ombudsman during Fair Work Week to ensure businesses understand their rights and responsibilities under the new national workplace relations system.
Today the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the South Australian Minister for Industrial Relations, Paul Caica, visited workplaces with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Nick Wilson, in Adelaide.
This heralds the start of 50,000 workplace visits across Australia this year to familiarise them with the Fair Work system.
While Work Choices added another layer of complexity to the existing system and stripped away important rights, the new laws aim to make workplace relations simpler and fairer for everyone.
The Government understands that changes to workplace relations can often be challenging for businesses, particularly for small businesses that don’t have the benefit of human resource departments.
Changes of the size and scale of those which came into full operation on 1 January need to be communicated clearly and effectively to employers and employees.
Rather than rely on an expensive advertising campaign, the Government is channelling targeted, practical and accurate information about the new system through the Fair Work Ombudsman as well as employer and employee representative organisations.
Under the Fair Work system, Fair Work Inspectors will be working with employers in every State and Territory in Australia, providing information about the new workplace relations arrangements.
Fair Work Inspectors will be visiting many thousands of businesses over the coming year to provide them with advice and assistance to help them better understand their new rights and responsibilities.
Transitional education visits will be targeted to businesses that are most likely to be moving into the national system for the first time and in other areas where we know there is the greatest need for information.
Employers will be provided with information kits which include fact sheets, best practice guides, a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement, the National Workplace Relations Checklist and a CD ROM containing a range of additional resources to assist employers.
The Government also launched the Fair Work Education and Information Program (FWEIP) in June 2009 to help employees, employers and small business prepare for the new workplace relations system.
Unlike the previous Liberal government’s $121 million Work Choices advertising extravaganza, the Fair Work Education and Information Program is factual, targeted and low cost.
The $12.9 million Fair Work Education and Information Program supports workshops, seminars, webinars and other on line resources, including an information portal specifically for small business: www.fairworkforsmallbusiness.com.au
Already, over 1700 workshops and seminars have been held free of charge to employees and employers across all states and territories of Australia including in regional areas.
Around 2300 sessions in total will be conducted during the life of the Fair Work Education and Information Program by employer and employee representative organisations. [A list of participating organisations is attached below]
Together with peak organisations like the ACCI, the NFF and the ACTU, the Government is encouraging employers and employees to familiarise themselves with the new system and take advantage of the free workshops and seminars.
Information about free sessions and webinars in your area is available at: Fair Work Online fairwork.gov.au or by contacting the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.
Organisation FWEIP Funding
ACT Chamber of Commerce $156 600
Aged and Community Services Australia $208 800
Australian Mines and Metals Association $435 000
Australian Chamber Alliance $2 548 000
Australian Council of Trade Unions $2 549 023
Australian Hotels Association $234 900
Australian Human Resources Institute $309 400
Australian Industry Group $1 911 000
Australian Retailers Association $400 200
Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation $ 217 500
Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia $2 220 000
Job Watch $364 800
Master Builders Association $282 100
Master Grocers Association $151 647
National Farmers Federation $348 000
National Retail Association $217 500
Recruitment and Consulting Services Association Ltd $136 500
Restaurant and Catering Australia $130 500
Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce $69 600
TOTAL
Tags: Business, Economy, Employment, Fair Work, Jobs, Labor Government, Reform