Our week at work, October 11-17
By Josephine Asher
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally may have claimed she’s “nobody’s girl” but this week she’s been criticised for behaving like a union puppet, standing in the way of Julia Gillard’s national reform of workplace laws.
Ms Keneally has thwarted Gillard’s plan for uniform national workplace safety laws, backing out of the deal and demanding that unions in NSW retain the right to prosecute employers for work safety breaches and that the onus of proof remains on employers to show they exercised due care.
“I would be hopeful that a federal Labor government could work with a state Labor government on ensuring that important aspects of worker safety could be retained in our state,” Ms Keneally said.
But the prime minister has demanded that NSW stick by the deal,
“It is disappointing and difficult to understand why the NSW government would want to walk away from this reform, considering these benefits. A deal is a deal.”
Zooming into the minerals sector, unions have been accused of taking advantage of the tight labour market, enabling welders to earn as much as $10,000 per week.
But resources companies have warned that rocketing wages could cause employers to reassess the viability of future projects, consequently halting the mining boom.
However, job prospects for anyone with engineering qualifications continue to be healthy, particularly for workers attracted to the fly-in, fly-out lifestyle on a port expansion project.
Brendan Petersen, general manager of John Holland’s energy and resources business, says the company has been on a continual recruitment footing for the past 18 months.
“We’ve been,” Petersen says. “If all the projections are right and the Australian resources sector keeps developing its minerals and gas, then we will really struggle to fill the available roles.”
The tight labour market has also gripped the Northern Territory and the Top End has put its hopes in the Irish for a solution.
Last month a Territory delegation, including staff of the Department of Business and Employment and Master Builders NT, attracted hundreds of people to a Dublin hotel for three seminars.
Graham Kemp, of Master Builders NT, told attendants of “unlimited opportunity for skilled workers in the Northern Territory” in construction, resources, tourism and defence.
A burst of inspiration this week came from Editor Kate Southam who met Rezvi Ali.
Cerebral Palsy has not stopped him gaining a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in human resources from Swinburne University, excelling at work or planning to buy a house with his wife like any other ambitious young man.
“I do a good job and make friends easily and try and leave people with a good impression that a disability isn’t a barrier to having a good job. People [who work with me] comment that they don’t see my disability,” says Ali.
Randstad operations director Steve Shepherd says the mission of his consultants is to educate employers about talent such as Ali.
In the controversial corner of news this week, Australia’s biggest sexual harassment case could be edging close to a settlement behind doors.
Just days after David Jones confirmed it had received expense claims for an overseas trip this month from Ms Fraser-Kirk, the 27-year-old appeared at the Federal Court in Sydney to enter into talks with David Jones lawyers.
READ MORE: David Jones sex case ‘in conciliation talks’
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