Experience
comes to life
when it is
powered by
expertise
coffey.com
to consult on effective outcomes for all mining, oil and gas
and related sector employers.
Workplace relations reform
AMMA has long advocated for appropriate workplace
relations settings that provide adequate employee
protections but also allow employers to be flexible,
innovate and ultimately drive a highly productive and
engaged workforce. This has been our consistent approach
regardless of who is in government.
Our ongoing priorities aim to ensure new resource
projects can viably come to market in Australia through
a responsible process; not be held to ransom by exorbitant
wage claims, industrial unrest or unnecessary delays.
We are assisting Prime Minister Abbott and his
ministerial team to hit the ground running and swiftly
implement their stated plans on workplace relations.
From our perspective, the Coalition’s ‘Policy to Improve
the Fair Work Laws’ does not tick all the boxes but it
makes a good start in restoring genuine balance in our
workplaces and addressing the plethora of recent anti-
business, pro-union industrial relations reregulation that
has been so damaging to Australian businesses.
Welcome first moves include restoring the Australian
Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) as an
effective industry regulator, breaking the union monopoly
on new project agreements and restoring some balance
to what have proven to be excessive and often disruptive
union site entry powers.
Another priority area for our sector will be continued
access to responsible skilled migration programs,
including the 457 visa scheme and Enterprise Migration
Agreements (EMA) – both of which were unfairly targeted
by widespread and vitriolic trade union campaigns
throughout 2013.
Productivity
The resources industry is facing a crossroads where
competition for global capital is becoming even fiercer
and our national productivity is at its lowest level in a
generation. One globally recognised economic think-tank,
the World Economic Forum (WEF), reported that in 2013
Australia’s international competitiveness had slipped to
just 21st in the world, behind New Zealand at 18th, Canada
at 14th and the United Kingdom at 10th.
Restrictive workplace regulation was the key factor
cited for Australia’s slide, with our nation’s labour
market efficiency now ranked 54th in the world – down
a staggering 41 places from two years ago. Likewise, our
productivity is ranked 113th in the world, wage flexibility
135
th and labour relations 103rd.
Such macro-economic numbers are also reflected
on the coalface, where a recent survey of AMMA
members revealed 87.5% of participants had not
achieved any productivity improvements within their
workplace agreements.
While an overhaul of Australia’s workplace
relations laws is required, just as important to turning
around Australia’s productivity woes are a range of non-
legislative initiatives in the areas of investment, work
practices, leadership, technology, productive bargaining
and skills development.
Innovative solutions to overcome challenges and
stimulate investment in these areas would complement
the government’s regulatory reform agenda. These are
both areas AMMA is working hard to bring to fruition.
Labour mobility
Another major challenge for Australia’s resources industry
is that of geographic labour mobility.
Since 2007, Australia’s resources industry has doubled
its direct workforce numbers to about 270,000 people –
25%
year on year – record growth for any sector. While
the changing economic climate has slightly diminished
the once insatiable demand for skilled labour, serious
challenges and opportunities still remain.
LNG investment is having a most significant impact on
the demand for labour and employment numbers are set
to increase throughout 2014, but with Australians proving
to be a relatively immobile bunch, the ability to meet
this demand requires collaboration to facilitate greater
domestic labour mobility between states.
Starting in January 2011, the previous federal
Labor government trialled a two-year worker relocation
incentives program. After 18 months, only 33 people had
taken up the incentives to move interstate to work in
the mining industry. This shows that increasing labour
mobility within Australia is not something that will
happen with small adjustments but rather requires big
thinking and coordinated interventions by policy makers
at all levels.
Recently, AMMA provided several starting points
to the Productivity Commission in facilitating greater
labour mobility, such as providing that tax incentives for