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Self Employed Australia

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The Gig Economy

We ask you: Make your views known to independent Senators! — Urgent

January 9, 2024 by Self-Employed Australia

independent-SenatorsWe know it’s the holiday break, but there are only 3 weeks before the Australian Parliament sits again. We must try to stop the anti-small business Loophole Bill from being passed in the Senate.

Last Friday I supplied you the open letter we sent to Senator David Pocock after he blindsided Australians by passing part of the Loophole Bill just before Christmas. The passed ‘bit’ puts a union political operative into every small business in Australia. He could well do the same thing in early February. The next part of the Bill is a massive trashing of every Australian’s right to be their own boss.

I’m asking you to put aside a little bit of time to contact the independent Senators.

Email Senators to raise your concerns and worries about the damage to you, your loved ones, family and friends. Whether you or they are a contractor, self-employed, casual worker or involved in a small/family business, this concerns you. It concerns your local shop keeper. Your personal story/concerns are powerful. Senators need to know this.

Phone Senators. If you ring a Senator’s office, ask to speak to an adviser. This personal approach is known to get results.

Ask a direct question: Does the Senator support or reject the balance of the Loophole Bill?

Answers to this simple question are vital.

The Senators and their advisers know exactly what the issues are. They know it’s a massive attack on small and family business people.

Here are the contact details:

Senator email Electorate phone Parliament phone
Senator Lidia Thorpe senator.thorpe@aph.gov.au (03) 9070 1950 (02) 6277 3353
Senator Pauline Hanson senator.hanson@aph.gov.au (07) 3221 7644 (02) 6277 3184
Senator Tammy Tyrrell senator.tyrrell@aph.gov.au (03) 9070 1910 (02) 6277 3422
Senator Jacqui Lambie senator.lambie@aph.gov.au (03) 6431 3112 (02) 6277 3614
Senator Malcolm Roberts senator.roberts@aph.gov.au (07) 3221 9099 (02) 6277 3694
Senator David Pocock Senator.David.Pocock@aph.gov.au (02) 6247 6444 (02) 6277 3117
Senator Ralph Babet senator.babet@aph.gov.au (03) 9070 1900 (02) 6277 3401
Senator David Van senator.van@aph.gov.au (03) 9008 4688 (02) 6277 3760

Don’t worry if the Senator is not in your State or Territory. Contact them anyway. This is an issue for every Australian.

You can let me know of your efforts and any outcomes.

Email me at: kennethnormanphillips@gmail.com

Many thanks

Remember: Good people can stop bad things happening!

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Election 2022, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

We ask Senator Pocock: Does he support the outlawing of self-employment?

January 5, 2024 by Self-Employed Australia

senator-pocockThis has been an unusual Christmas/New Year ‘break’ for us. We’ve needed to keep working!

The reason is the looming outlawing of your/our legal right to be our own boss/es—that is, to be self-employed. This is a real live threat, the likes of which have never been seen before (since Federation at least).

We explained this in our ‘double-cross, Trojan Horse’, news alert before Christmas (14 December). Supposed ‘independent’, ‘small business-aligned’ Senator David Pocock was at the centre of this legislative small business attack—not a very nice Christmas present at all. Senator Pocock has enabled the passage in the Senate of a section in the government’s Loophole Bill which gives union ‘delegates’ intrusive control over small businesses. This flags a massive much larger assault in the pipeline for small business people. Yes, this means attacking you!

We’ve now written to Senator Pocock explaining our position and asking him to be ‘upfront’ about his intentions. We’re publishing this for anyone to read. Sorry, it’s a bit long.


4 January 2023

Dear Senator Pocock

You are no doubt aware of our criticism of you, posted on our website on 14 December 2023. This criticism relates to your central and critical role in working with the Labor government to pass a highly controversial section of the Loophole Bill on 7 December 2023.

The objectionable content

That now-passed section gives designated union representatives extensive legal ‘rights’ to interfere in (and based on our experience, to effectively control) any Australian business. This includes even small businesses where the individual person running their own business employs only one person.

This legal right—gifted to one person to interfere in and effectively control the business management decisions of another person—comes with no responsibility or consequences for the person who has been allocated that controlling right.

This is an extremely dangerous law which destroys a key notion of legal responsibility in our society. People running their own small business or even people running large businesses have imposed upon them onerous, personal obligations and direct personal responsibilities for their actions or failures. The law which you have enabled gives effective controlling power to one person (a union delegate) to require actions of another person (the business person/individual) who then carries the responsibility for the consequences.

The immediate consequence of this is the defilement of a core principle of justice in our society—namely, that individuals are responsible for their actions.

We have to ask: where in any section of the Bill that has been passed are union delegates held liable and responsible for their actions?

On the practical level, law which grants power without responsibility attacks a core motivational trigger in our society—namely, the ability and willingness of individuals to get off their tail/s and start a business of their own and then run it.

People who have ever been in business for themselves work hard, put everything ‘on the line’ to pursue a vision, a belief to better themselves and their loved ones. To do this they must have clear control within the scope and framework of the laws with which they must comply. But where a law imposes not just legal parameters, but an overseer with the power to micro-dictate decisions, the pursuit of that vision has a noose placed around its neck. And that leads to corruption.

Why does corruption occur? Because when third parties have control or partial control of a business and those third parties bear no responsibility for their control, then the third party will expect, demand and induce ‘pay offs’ from the people running the business. To suggest that this does not occur would reflect naivety about the reality of human behaviour.

Senator, it may be that you have another explanation for your support for this law that you created on 7 December. Maybe you have another perspective. But we think it reasonable of us to make it clear to you why our criticism is so strong.

But there is also another element to our criticism. This second element concerns the process that you followed to effect the passing of the split Loophole Bill on 7 December 2023.

Breach of trust

You will be well aware of the following:

  • After the introduction of the Loophole Bill in early September 2023 you were instrumental in having the Bill referred to a Senate Inquiry. We congratulated you for this.
  • You were active in the Senate Inquiry process.
  • Further, you conducted your own extensive consultations which were heavily focused on small business issues. We took active part in a number of those consultations. We congratulated you on this.
  • On 6 November 2023 you moved to split the Bill to seek to pass ‘uncontroversial matters’. We congratulated you on this. The split Bill passed in the Senate with the support of the independents. The government rejected the split Bill in the House of Representatives.
  • The Senate Inquiry is due to report in early February 2024.

The events outlined above generated an expectation that the Loophole Bill would be subject to further consideration once the Senate Inquiry had reported in February. In fact, it is our understanding that Senate convention is that consideration of Bills waits until after Inquiry reports have been released.

Without warning, on 7 December 2023 you sided with the government to pass the new ‘split’ Loophole Bill that included the union delegate ‘right of entry’ we refer to above.

If you had been successful in passing the split Bill that you attempted on 6 November, we would have been full of praise. But the inclusion of the ‘right of entry’ provisions destroys any capacity for praise to which you would have been entitled.

By supporting the section on ‘delegate rights’ on 7 December you have, from our perspective, severed any trust we feel we can have in you to follow the consultative processes that you yourself were instrumental in establishing.

What you have signalled, from our perspective, is that:

  • The Senate Inquiry process was pointless.
  • The Senate report will be pointless.
  • The consultations you conducted with small business were pointless and meaningless.

Senator, you are perfectly entitled to make decisions as you see fit. You have that power and parliamentary capacity. We accept and acknowledge that in your consultations you have diligently asked questions and sought information. And in our experience you have mostly stayed mute about your views on the ‘contentious’ issues. That is also appropriate during consultations and is (again) your right. Where your view became clearly known was in your actions on 6 November when you sought to pass certain ‘uncontroversial’ elements of the Loophole Bill. However, the passing of the highly controversial ‘right of entry’ provisions was, in our view, a blind-siding of small business people.

You will be aware that you have been referred to in The Australian as a ‘Trojan horse’. Certainly the Labor Party has a long history and is adept at presenting ‘headlines’ on issues deflecting analysis from the true effect of a Bill. Your apparent silence on the union delegate ‘control’ of business issue has us puzzled. What are your reasons?

It is for this reason—the collapse of our trust in the consultative process with you—that we are now placed in a position where we must make a decision.

Your next steps

We must assume that you will likewise blind-side small business and the Australian community and pass the balance of the Loophole Bill—that is, the rest of the controversial sections of the Bill.

We believe that you are well aware of our strong objections to the balance of the Loophole Bill. In our briefing papers supplied to your office and in our submission to the Senate Inquiry we have made it clear that the following sections of the original version of the Loophole Bill are objectionable and should be rejected.

Specifically, this means rejecting:

  • 15AA (Page 113) Determining the ordinary meaning of employee and employer
  • 15H (Page 123) Meaning of services contract
  • 15 L (Pages 126 to 128) Meaning of digital platform work
  • 15 P (Pages 126 to 128) Meaning of employee-like worker
  • Part 16 (Pages 128 to 139) Regulated workers – Road Transport
  • Chap3A (Pages 131 to 190) Regulated worker
  • 536JX (Page 153) FWC vs ACCC — Competition law

And we include rejection of

  • 15A (Pages 5 to 21) Meaning of casual employee

And that any other sections of the Bill that relate to, or involve implementation of, the foregoing sections also be removed from the Bill, as they will become redundant once those sections are removed.

Senator, our calls for the rejection of these sections is based on the fact that to pass these sections involves a complete dissolution of fundamental underpinnings of how the Australian economy is regulated. That is, they remove the clear and necessary distinction between industrial relations law/regulation on the one hand and commercial/competition law/regulation on the other. These sections of the Bill are not some mere ‘tweaking’ of industrial relations law. They do not ‘protect’ small business people, but rather legislatively remove the right to be a small business person. These sections follow the axiom that to ‘protect the village it is necessary to destroy it!’

In our papers and submissions, we have made it quite clear how small business people, including self-employed independent contractors, need and can be afforded further protections. We believe actions on the items we have raised should be policy and law.

Senator, given that we have no idea where you stand or are likely to stand on the Loophole provisions (above) that we oppose, we believe it responsible of us to ask if you would be interested in providing us your views/positions. Our engagement process with you to date has been, for the most part, constructive and appreciated. But, as stated, that trust has recently been broken for the reasons we stated above.

Passage of the sections of the Bill we highlight above would, in our view, constitute a betrayal of Australian small business people and demonstrate an anti-small business stance.

Given that parliament is due to resume in early February 2024, we are looking to make decisions on what we need to do by mid-January 2024. The timelines are tight.

We send this correspondence to you as a public document that we will publish on our website.

With thanks for your considerations.

Ken Phillips
Executive Director
Self-Employed Australia

 

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Loophole Update – Common sense at last – Movement!

December 7, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

loophole-updateBreaking news: The Albanese government has finally bowed to common sense and split the Loophole (IR) Bill into two sections. Today (7 Dec 2023), independent Senators David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie secured a deal to pass some parts of the Loophole Bill.

Senator Pocock’s media release states that the agreed changes are as follows:

  • Make it easier for First Responders to access workers’ compensation for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from 1 January 2024 …
  • Enhance protections for people experiencing family and domestic violence …
  • Expand the functions of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency to include silica …
  • Ensure employees of large companies don’t miss out on redundancy entitlements as a business downsizes due to insolvency …
  • Close labour hire loopholes consistent with amendments to the legislation that passed the House of Representatives …
  • Criminalise intentional wage theft and the non-payment of superannuation, …
  • Ensure industrial manslaughter becomes a criminal offence …
  • Ensure health and safety representatives can access workplaces …

The issues in this (now) Part One of the Loophole Bill are essentially the ones which the Senate had agreed to in November but were rejected by the government who insisted that the entire Loophole Bill be passed. The Albanese government has now flipped. The only section not agreed to in November and now included is the labour hire bit!

Big business organisations have heavily criticised the passing of the labour hire provisions. We haven’t studied these clauses and therefore make no comment.

But putting labour hire issues to one side, congratulations must go to the independents in both the Senate and House who have argued to pass some of the Bill, as is now the case.

It’s also fair to recognise the constructive role of the Coalition. It could have taken the attitude of allowing the entire Loophole Bill to pass and letting the economy tank as a result. Some political strategists would argue that such an approach is good politics. In other words, letting the government make a real mess of the Bill would be a pathway to electoral success for the opposition. To its credit, the Coalition hasn’t done this and has put its assessment of policy above crude politics.

The rest of the Bill will now be debated/negotiated next year when Parliament resumes in February. This includes the key issues we have asked the independent Senators to reject.

These issues are in the remaining part of the Loophole Bill and include the following (with links to our position papers):

  • Overturning common law—High Court rejection.
  • Turning self-employed people into employees.
  • Trashing casuals’ incomes.
  • Attacking owner-drivers.

These parts of the Loophole Bill are small business destruction items that deny Australians the right to be their own boss.

Further, they are a direct attack upon the fundamentals of competition that underpin our economy. When you destroy small business, you destroy competition. We put our view on this in response to Senator Pocock’s Questions—Competition/Big Business.

The next phase will be the ‘battle’ early next year over the issues that concern us—namely, will small business people be allowed to exist? Will the right to be self-employed be respected? Will the common law and common sense of the High Court be respected? These are the things we seek to defend.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Dancing with Alice at the Mad Hatter’s tea party – Loophole Bill farce

November 29, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

I’m in Parliament (Canberra) and have been studying the Albanese government’s amendments to the Loophole (IR) Bill. ‘Weird’ is the best description. Try this.

The amendment relating to ‘employee-like’ workers says:

an “…order must not include terms about any of the following matters…” then lists the excluded matters.

But one paragraph later the amendment then says:

“Despite the subsection (above) a term about a matter mentioned (above) may be included …if the FWC (Fair Work Commission) is satisfied that the inclusion of the term (matter) is appropriate…”

That is, the amendment says that something is ‘out’ but is also ‘in’. What?

It reminds me of a quotation from Alice in Wonderland:

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!”

But if we can leave Alice alone for a little while, independent Senator David Pocock asked me to respond to two questions following my appearance before the Senate Committee on 10 November. YouTube link (19 minutes)

Senator Pocock asked:

1. You warn that this Bill will damage competition and result in a concentration of power in the hands of big business. Can you explain your concern for the fate of small business and competition in Australia in relation to this Bill?

We’ve replied in detail, but here are some points we made.

  • Tradespeople in the housing sector, in particular, will progressively lose their independence and be forced to work through large construction firms under similar arrangements to those operating in the commercial construction space. Housing construction will, over time, become concentrated in the hands of small numbers of big business builders.
  • The cash economy will expand. People denied access to gig-type work will turn to the shadow economy and under-the-table payments. (Note: Because gig work is all on-line transaction managed, payments are transparent and traceable for tax and other regulatory purposes.)
  • Big business will have an expanded control of the Australian economy. The suppression of small business activity, and in many cases the elimination of small business, will favour big business. The Bill will create a competition vacuum in the economy into which big business will happily move.

2. Does this Bill impose any risks on the viability and autonomy of relatively well paid independent contractors?

Our full answer to this question is:

Yes. By design, the Bill re-defines every self-employed person as an employee, thus legislatively removing their right to be a self-employed, independent contractor, their ‘own-boss’. The Bill is limitless in its reach and unrestrained by income level or any other factor. The Bill’s operational mechanisms have the capacity to directly attack the viability and autonomy of any independent contractor, no matter what their pay or income level.

The full answer to the first question is here and includes detailed references to the relevant sections of the Bill. It’s 5,000 words and (frankly) gets pretty dull to read.

If you want a more lively read, I’ve put together a Substack post (eight-minute read) that might be more engaging.

So off now to read more about Alice in the Wonderland of the Loophole Bill.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Thank goodness for the independents! Loophole Bill is a huge PILL

November 24, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

Loophole-BillThere’s no doubt that the Senate independents have brought common sense to the Albanese government’s Loophole (industrial relations) Bill. And it’s a great victory for common sense that the firm stand taken by the independents has forced the government to start making amendments to the Bill.

  • First, the independent Senators refused to pass the entire Bill given that it is one huge pill too enormous and complex to swallow!
  • Second, the independent Senators carved out four vital work-safety-related items from the Loophole Pill/Bill and passed these (in the Senate) but the government voted against this and insisted the entire Pill/Bill should be passed/swallowed in its entirety.
  • Third, the government has carved out three amendments to bits of the Pill/Bill, presenting these as a great victory for them—as if they are masters of negotiation!

We don’t yet know the details of the government’s three amendments, but from the government’s media output they relate to changes to:

  • ‘Service contractors’ under labour hire;
  • Some aspects of the casuals definitions; and
  • Some aspects of the gig provisions.

We see these as minor changes given the massive size, complexity and far-reaching implications of the Loophole Bill. And the government seems to be desperate to get some industry associations and businesses to agree to some aspects of the Bill as part of a political game to pass the entire Pill/Bill.

But the truth is that the government has started making changes (very minor on our assessment) only because the independent Senators have said ‘NO, this Bill must be studied and looked at in its detail’. (And the Lib/Nats have supported this.)

Sometimes our parliamentary democracy actually does what it’s supposed to do—that is, make for better government. There are huge parts of this Bill that are super bad and should not be passed.

We say that the following sections of the Bill should not be passed—namely, the sections that:

  • Outlaw the bulk of self-employment;
  • Outlaw digital (gig) platform operations in Australia and therefore deny self-employed people the right to earn their income through digital (gig) platforms; and
  • Destroy self-employed owner-drivers’ businesses.

One big reason for not passing the Bill/Pill is that it is designed to damage competition law in Australia. This would create opportunity for a further concentration of economic power by big business. This would hit small business people in the guts.

So far, every indication from the independents is that they are not going to be bullied and are looking at the Bill in its detail.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Owner-Drivers, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Loophole Bill – State of play

November 20, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

Loophole-billThis is to provide you with an update on the state of play with the Albanese government’s Loophole (industrial relations) Bill.

Last week we provided you the link to my video evidence (on 10 November) before the Senate Committee looking at the Bill. It’s not quite riveting, Oscar-winning viewing, but the interchange between myself and ex-Transport Workers’ Union career official, now Senator, Glenn Sterle could have put us both in the running for an Oscar nomination perhaps? Um!

But back to reality! To summarise:

  • The day before I gave evidence, independent Senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock moved motions in the Senate (on 9 November) to extract the OHS items from the massive Bill. These covered redundancy issues, anti-discrimination, asbestos safety and first responders coverage. (We support these and have said so.) The amendments were supported by the Libs/Nats and other independent Senators and passed.
  • Last week (13 November) those amendments went to the House of Representatives with the government voting against them. That is, the Albanese government blocked the implementation of these vital OHS protections. The outcome is a stalemate at this stage. The government insists on passing the entire Bill as a block and has been accused of using the OHS issues to leverage the passing of the government’s aggressive industrial relations agenda. This includes the self-employed, small business destruction parts that we strongly oppose.
  • Parliament isn’t sitting this week but returns the week after (from 27 November) for two weeks before Christmas. I’ll be back in Canberra ‘walking the halls’, talking with parliamentarians and their advisory staff.
  • The Senate Committee has finished its hearings and will now prepare its report to be presented on 1 February 2024. Normally the government controls the numbers on committees and a majority report favouring the Bill could be expected, with a minority report making criticism. But that’s speculation on our part.
  • Parliament resumes on 6 February with five sitting weeks from then until May. It’s impossible to tell what will happen, but if the stalemate continues (that is, the independent Senators wanting the amendments and the government refusing to pass them) the Bill could drag on well into next year. Again, that’s speculation.

However, there’s a lot of work for us to do. Following my Senate Committee appearance, we’ve received a request from the Committee secretariat asking for responses to follow-up questions from Senator Pocock. These are:

  1. You warn that this Bill will damage competition and result in a concentration of power in the hands of big business. Can you explain your concern for the fate of small business and competition in Australia in relation to this Bill?
  2. Does this Bill impose any risks on the viability and autonomy of relatively well-paid independent contractors?

The reply is due by 27 November. What’s great is that what we are saying is being taken seriously. But we need to demonstrate and seek to prove our case. And isn’t that exactly what a parliamentary democracy is supposed to be about?

We’ll keep you informed.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

You don’t save something by destroying it!

November 13, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

Senate-committeeOn Friday last (10 November) I appeared before the Senate Committee looking at the Loophole Bill.

Earlier in the day the Transport Workers Union had organised gig workers and others to appear before the Committee to describe how difficult their jobs are. We totally agree that all workers need protections. But gig workers are self-employed people, and they are not ‘protected’ if their right to be self-employed, to be their own boss, is destroyed.

This is the point I made in my presentation to the Senate Committee on Friday. (19 minutes)

Ken-Phillips

The government might have a declared intent to ‘protect’ gig workers and self-employed owner-drivers, but its ‘solution’ is all wrong. It wants to ‘protect’ us by denying us the right to be self-employed—to be an owner-driver or to be a self-employed person working through a gig platform.

There are better and more effective ways to ‘protect’ us self-employed people and we’re campaigning for this. These include:

  • Making government departments subject to unfair contract laws.
  • Having security of payment laws, particularly for construction and housing tradies.
  • Prompt pay on time laws.
  • And more.

These are real solutions that make common sense.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Pay on time, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Defend your right (and the right of anyone) to be your own boss

October 27, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

defend-your-rightWe’ve been sending you lots of information on the Albanese government’s small business destruction (Loophole) Bill currently being investigated by a Senate Committee. We have more information still to send you, but if you’re interested, there is a series of Australia-wide information sessions on this being run by the Master Builders Association.

You don’t have to be a tradie to attend, because this Loophole Bill kills YOUR self-employed small business whether you’re a tradie, an IT contractor, a hairdresser or whatever!

You can find more about the sessions (includes regional/country) and make a booking if you can attend through this link to the MBA campaign page.

be-your-own-boss

We had one hairdresser contact us and say, “I just work for myself. Who’ll be my employer if I’m turned into an employee? My customers?” Brilliant question. And here’s the stupidity of this Bill. It literally declares self-employed, independent contractors to be employees. So, yes. Who’s our employer? Great question that the Bill doesn’t answer. Just dumb!!! (That’s a technical term for a stupid law by the way!)

Because this Loophole Bill is so complicated we’ve been sending you information and analysis in ‘bits’. But we’ve now updated our campaign page:

Defending Your Right to Be Your Own Boss.

be-your-own-boss

We’ve put all our analysis in one spot and will keep updating this.

Remember—your future and your income as a self-employed person is in the hands of the seven independent Senators.

David Pocock   ACT

Jacqui Lambie  Tas

Tammy Tyrell   Tas

Lidia Thorpe     Vic

Ralph Babet      Vic

Malcolm Roberts  Qld

Pauline Hanson    Qld

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Owner-Drivers, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Trashing casuals’ incomes – The Loophole Bill

October 23, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

casualsLast week we explained how the Albanese government’s Loophole Bill will trash the incomes of casuals. That’s a pretty big claim on our part, particularly when we calculate the actual amounts that casuals can/will lose. That is, that casuals on:

  • minimum pay will lose up to $3,062 a year;
  • average pay will lose up to $5,354 a year.

But we don’t make such claims without proper analysis and facts.

In my Substack post on this we provide the analysis (8-minute read). And we include the full details of the wording of the relevant section in the Loophole Bill in our briefing paper to the Senate independents. This shows that the Bill effectively outlaws casual employment. This is how so many people (2.7 million of them) will have their incomes trashed.

You’d think that this is a very strange thing for a Labor government to do. Labor always says that it looks after low-income people, but this Bill clearly does the reverse. Why would they do this? Well, that’s for them to explain.

But Australian business columnist Robert Gottliebsen (23 October) has commented that the Loophole Bill:

“…is really a multitude of different actions, so people keep discovering new horrors as they study the pages, particularly the nasties hidden in the 500-page explanatory memorandum.”

Robert explains how the Bill attacks casuals’ incomes:

“Step one is to virtually abolish casual work by making the definition so complex that no one can risk employing a casual because the fines for paying people extra via the casual employment classification can be up to $93,000. Accordingly the casual labour “loophole” is closed.”

“Most existing casuals will need to transfer to full-time employment, or, more likely, part-time employee status. That means 2.7 million will receive a lower income.”

He says,

“There will be a riot when 2.7 million casuals discover they are a “loophole” and must have their cash pay cut.”

The issue is so huge Robert believes that if the Bill passes the Senate,

“…Peter Dutton is highly likely to become the next prime minister.”

After the massive rejection of Albanese and Labor’s attempt at the Voice, put this Loophole Bill on top—and anything could happen!!

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Campaigns, Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Election 2022, Federal politics, Owner-Drivers, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Worker classification

Independent Senators – Your small business future in their hands

October 18, 2023 by Self-Employed Australia

independent-senatorsHave no doubt that the future of your right to be your own boss, to be a small business person, is in the hands of the seven independent Senators in parliament.

On Monday and Tuesday this week I ‘walked the corridors’ of Parliament House, Canberra, meeting with Senator’s advisors and others on the government’s 284-page, highly complex Loophole (Industrial Relations) Bill. I’ll be returning to Canberra several times before Christmas.

We’ve provided you an overview of the Bill and a detailed analysis of how the Bill trashes contract law as defined by the High Court. We’ll be supplying more analysis progressively. But be very clear on the central thrust of this Albanese government Bill.

This is the greatest attack against Australian small business people ever seen. More details below.

What should be happening are proper protections for small business people. One of these is the unfair contract laws. Seriously stronger unfair contract law come into effect on 9 November and, across the board, companies are upgrading their contracts. But government departments are not subject to these laws. That is, government departments can have unfair contracts with small business people and get away with it.

On Monday morning (16 October), independents Senator David Pocock, Senator Jacqui Lambie and MP Allegra Spender co-sponsored a small business breakfast in Parliament. The large room was packed. I had a chance to push this issue.

I put it to the Senators that this must be fixed. A one-paragraph amendment to competition law would stop this double-standards shocker.

Here I am putting this proposition. Senator David Pocock is behind me on the left of the picture.

small-business

But back to the Bill. The consequence of this Bill is that:

  • 2 million self-employed people will be declared to be employees. This will kill incomes.
  • 970,000 people who use gig work for top-up income will have their incomes trashed.
  • 8 million casuals will be forced to be full/part time employees, losing 6 per cent of their income.

For just the casual workers, people on:

  • minimum pay will lose up to $3,062 a year;
  • average pay will lose up to $5,354 a year.

That is, the Albanese government is engaged in a massive attack against people’s incomes.

This is no exaggeration. These conclusions are based on hard analysis of the words in the legislation with clear documentation on what this means. But be alert. The Albanese government is conducting a scandalous misinformation and disinformation campaign to push this Bill through.

We have more detailed explanation papers that we’ll release shortly. You can judge for yourself. We’ve already supplied these to the independent Senators and MPs and they are listening.

Filed Under: 'Employee-like', 'Insecure Work', Defending the gig economy, Defending the self-employed, Defining Self-employment, Federal politics, Independent contracting, Self-Employed Australia, Self-employment, The Gig Economy, Truth and Politics, Unfair contracts, Unfair Contracts, Worker classification

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