Industry welcomes workplace reform suggestions

The Australian resources sector has welcomed the release of the Productivity Commission’s (PC’s) draft report on Australia’s workplace relations, with the Minerals Council calling for greater debate. The draft report identified a number of deficiencies in the current regime, suggesting reforms of these, including bargaining arrangements for large, capital-intensive greenfield projects; unfair dismissal and the generate protections provision; the introduction of scope to remove system complexity; and that steps should be taken to ensure aborted strikes and brief stoppages were not used by unions to damage employers in a bargaining context.