New IR laws remove edge

SINCE the early 1990s WA has been lauded as having the most competitive industrial relations system in the land, however that is soon about to change.

Employment groups believe the new IR system proposed by the WA Government will make many businesses unviable and add greatly to employers’ wage bills.

WA’s workplace agreement system, which allowed employers to set up a flexible workplace regime without having to meet the requirements of any relevant industrial awards, has largely been credited with bringing the State to the top of the IR competitiveness regime.

Employers were also allowed to offer jobs on the proviso that the new employee entered into a workplace agreement. The only real requirement an employer faced was that the workplace agreement met the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act.

With the new IR regime, expected to come into effect in July, most employer groups are expecting a flood to the Federal Australian Workplace Agreements.