ACTU Media Release Issued Friday 7 July 2006

HOWARD GOVT IR AGENCY CONFIRMS COWRA SACKINGS AND PAY CUTS LEGAL UNDER NEW IR LAWS
Australian workers can be legally sacked and re-employed on lower wages and conditions under the Howard Govt's new IR laws the Government's own workplace watchdog has confirmed today. The Office of Workplace Services has today released a report that confirms that it was legal for the Cowra abattoir to, as it did in early April, propose sacking 29 meatworkers and re-employ them on wages that involved pay cuts of around 30% or up to $180 week lower. ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said today:

"The Office of Workplace Services report clearly confirms what the ACTU and unions have being saying about these laws all along - they leave Australian workers exposed to the threat of being legally sacked and offered their jobs back on lower wages. The Prime Minister is wrong to claim that the OWS report shows that the Cowra abattoir sackings could have occurred under the previous IR laws. This is another deliberate attempt by the Prime Minister John Howard and the Employment Minister Kevin Andrews to deceive the Australian public..more

more info: Your Rights At Work | OWS Report