Australian workers win new IR laws - Hotel workers can be first to use them

Remember John Howard? He was the Prime Minister Australians voted out more than 18 months ago because of his unpopular workplace laws.

Kevin Rudd’s government has written new Fair Work Laws. The new laws will start on 1 July – not far away now. Under the new laws a majority of workers can require their employer to negotiate in good faith with them.

Because most hotels have never negotiated a workplace agreement the new laws aim to make getting an agreement easier, by allowing one agreement to cover many hotels.

These new laws give hotel workers a rare opportunity to change the industry. If hotel workers act quickly you will be able to negotiate a new national deal for workers from hotels across Australia. Unfortunately until July 1 John Howard’s old laws, the WorkChoices laws, still exist. Some hotels have decided to ignore the views of the Australian community and try to keep WorkChoices.

We need to tell those hotels the times of employers writing an agreement and forcing workers to accept it ended when John Howard stopped being Prime Minister. Australians voted for a new era where workers and employers can work together to make Australia a better place.

Those hotels need to understand that workers and management working together to build better jobs and better hotels is a good thing, not something to be afraid of.