April 4, 2012 - 7:39PM
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has dampened hopes a review of Fair Work laws will lead to a major overhaul of industrial rules, arguing productivity gains can come from many other measures.
Industry groups have called for changes to workplace laws to improve productivity, saying the Rudd and Gillard governments have shifted the goalposts too far towards unions.
But Mr Shorten, in his first major speech about the future of work in Australia, said productivity is a much bigger issue than industrial regulation.
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has dampened hopes a review of Fair Work laws will lead to a major overhaul of industrial rules, arguing productivity gains can come from many other measures.
Industry groups have called for changes to workplace laws to improve productivity, saying the Rudd and Gillard governments have shifted the goalposts too far towards unions.
But Mr Shorten, in his first major speech about the future of work in Australia, said productivity is a much bigger issue than industrial regulation.
"Workforces of the future should not outsource all things and all matters of productivity to workplace regulation alone," Mr Shorten told the Sydney Institute on Wednesday.
"Excessive waste, high turnover, poor occupational health and safety - this is never or rarely measured. But it always hits the bottom line."
The former Australian Workers Union boss said the government's role was "to lay the highway but not drive the bus".
"Simple cures for complex problems amount to industrial relations quackery," Mr Shorten said.
"Bottom line: not all problems either could or should be solved by government."
Mr Shorten says research shows employees are wasting a third of their time on inefficient tasks.
"People in my experience usually know how to fix problems but have never been asked," he said.
"Waste reduction delivers permanent improvements to productivity."
He said employers who train and retain their employees always receive greater loyalty from their employees.
They also needed to pass the "what's in it for me test".
"Organisations that can explain to their employees where the employee fits in and a plan for each employees' future create far greater alignment between employee and employer," Mr Shorten said.
Mr Shorten said it was important to recognise happiness is linked to work.
He said the debate over workplace relations needed to move beyond a "sterile debate about the evil of unionism or the benefits of statutory individual contracts".
"Sadly at present, our debate moves tiresomely back and forth along a railway branch line between the two opposing destinations of fairness at one end, flexibility at the other," Mr Shorten said.
"What if this debate wasn't linear at all? What if there was an alternative destination? An alternative 'sweet spot' for improving wealth creation and wellbeing at enterprises?"
Mr Shorten said this could be achieved through leadership in the workplace.
© 2012 AAP
"Excessive waste, high turnover, poor occupational health and safety - this is never or rarely measured. But it always hits the bottom line."
The former Australian Workers Union boss said the government's role was "to lay the highway but not drive the bus".
"Simple cures for complex problems amount to industrial relations quackery," Mr Shorten said.
"Bottom line: not all problems either could or should be solved by government."
Mr Shorten says research shows employees are wasting a third of their time on inefficient tasks.
"People in my experience usually know how to fix problems but have never been asked," he said.
"Waste reduction delivers permanent improvements to productivity."
He said employers who train and retain their employees always receive greater loyalty from their employees.
They also needed to pass the "what's in it for me test".
"Organisations that can explain to their employees where the employee fits in and a plan for each employees' future create far greater alignment between employee and employer," Mr Shorten said.
Mr Shorten said it was important to recognise happiness is linked to work.
He said the debate over workplace relations needed to move beyond a "sterile debate about the evil of unionism or the benefits of statutory individual contracts".
"Sadly at present, our debate moves tiresomely back and forth along a railway branch line between the two opposing destinations of fairness at one end, flexibility at the other," Mr Shorten said.
"What if this debate wasn't linear at all? What if there was an alternative destination? An alternative 'sweet spot' for improving wealth creation and wellbeing at enterprises?"
Mr Shorten said this could be achieved through leadership in the workplace.
© 2012 AAP
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