New laws passed – winning fundamental rights for working people  

Part one of the Closing Loopholes Bill has passed the Senate, delivering a much-needed win for Australian workers heading into the holiday season.

Thanks to the support of Labor, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network, Lydia Thorpe and David Pocock, changes will come into effect that will make a positive difference in the lives of working Australians, including:

• New rights for labour hire workers (same job, same pay)
• Criminalising and increasing fines for wage theft (including superannuation theft)
• Strong new rights for workplace delegates
• Stronger workplace safety laws, including industrial manslaughter and better rights for injured workers
• Protections for domestic violence survivors
• Redundancy rights for those working in small businesses

This win is a cause for celebration – but the job is not yet done. Unionists will continue to fight for more rights in the new year.

Change on the way for working Australians

For the past decade, working Australians have seen their real wages plummet, largely thanks to deliberate policy by the former coalition government to keep wages as low as possible.

Big business campaigned hard and has spent millions to try and stop these new rights getting through. But we were never going to give up.

As cost-of-living pressures mount, the changes in part one of the Closing Loopholes Bill will help ease the burden on working Australians.

Criminalising wage and superannuation theft will ensure workers are receiving the salary and entitlements they rightfully earn – meaning more money in the pocket of workers.

Closing labour hire loopholes via same job, same pay laws means means the days of workmates being paid different salaries for the same job will come to an end – preventing big companies like Qantas from gaming the system to drive down pay and conditions.

The new laws also deliver when it comes to workplace health and safety – creating industrial manslaughter laws that will hold employers who fail to provide their workers a safe workplace accountable.

Winning more essential changes in the new year

The battle to transform our workplaces isn’t over.

The Government has committed to finishing the job and passing the rest of the Bill early next year. This includes:

• Better rights for casuals
• Rights for gig workers on digital platforms
• Better rights for truckies and those in road transport to stay safe
• More support to stop wage theft.

The union movement will not stop until the job is done.

Be a part of the movement that fights for fairer workplaces and the dignity of our working lives.