Union proposes scheme to cover 100% of workers’ entitlements
Thursday 4 December 2008
Reports today note that the AMWU is proposing a new system designed to protect 100% of worker entitlements in a similar way to the Federal Government has guaranteed bank deposits.
Union research shows that up to $37 billion of annual leave, superannuation and redundancy entitlements are not protected.
The union wants the current GEERS scheme to pay the full entitlements of workers whose companies go into liquidation; GEERS is taxpayer funded and is capped.
According to the union’s estimates more than 38,000 manufacturing workers have lost their jobs since February this year, with expectation that number will rise to above 50,000 by February next year.
Currently the GEERS scheme provides:
- Up to three months unpaid wages for the period prior to the appointment of the insolvency practitioner (including amounts deducted from wages such as for superannuation, but not passed on to the worker’s super fund);
- All unpaid annual leave;
- All unpaid long service leave;
- All unpaid pay in lieu of notice;
- Up to a maximum of 16 weeks unpaid redundancy entitlement.
The sting in the tail, however, is that the union is seeking to impose a compulsory levy on employers to fund measures designed to guarantee the 100% of entitlements. This is to be achieved by imposing a levy of 0.1% on payroll to fund introduction of such a scheme, either by way of a form of universal insurance or direct contribution that would pay workers their full entitlements where their employer is unable to.
This is not a new idea by any means but rather something the same union has been pursuing within the manufacturing sector through enterprise bargaining for the past 10 years or so.
