SA Unions have welcomed SA Labor’s commitments to deliver safer and fairer workplaces and a ban on further privatisation, contained in its workplace relations policy which was launched today.
SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley said that with the some of the worst employment outcomes in Australia, Labor’s workplace relations policy would help to provide the decent wages and improved conditions South Australians deserved.
“SA Labor’s workplace relations policy will come as good news to South Australian workers who have long struggled with wage theft, insecure work and unsafe workplaces.
“Labor’s new workplace policy stands in stark contrast to the Marshall Government, who, despite the serious problems faced by South Australian workers, has not deemed their issues important enough to announce a policy.
“We welcome Labor’s commitment to take strong action against wage theft, which sees up to half a billion ripped away from hard working South Australians and their families each year.
“At the end of the day, every South Australian worker deserves to come home safe to their families and we welcome the full review of Safework SA, proposed measures to ensure employers provide safe workplaces and measures to keep workers safe from dust diseases.
Mr Beasley said the Labor’s workplace was also an excellent outcome for South Australia’s women, with proposed workplace measures significantly improving their conditions.
“Labor’s plans to make portable leave and domestic and family violence leave more widely available will come as welcome news to South Australia’s women, as will proposed laws which crack down on the abuse of front-line retail workers, the majority of whom are female.”
Mr Beasley said, given their history of failure, Labor’s commitment to ban future privatisations would also come as a welcome relief to many South Australians.
“South Australian’s know full well that the privatisation of public services means two things – higher prices and worse services.
“For too long South Australians have had to pay the price for the Liberals failed privatisation experiments and Labor’s announcement that no further privatisations will take place, and recent privatisations in public transport will be revisited, is a sensible and positive step in the right direction.
“If the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us anything, it’s the importance of well-managed, well-resourced and well-staffed public services which are there to support the community when we need them most.
“We welcome Labor’s commitment to end the Liberals failed privatisation policies.”
