Ian Jamieson, Fremantle
In yet another cynical move to deflect criticism from his draconian industrial relations plans, PM John Howard announced on September 29 that legal aid will be made available to some workers sacked under the government's new "unfair" dismissal laws.
He said that sacked workers could be granted up to $4000 for legal aid, so long as they had been through a conciliation process, convinced the Industrial Relations Commission that their case was legitimate and has a reasonable chance of success, and earned less than $40,000 a year. Any subsequent challenge to their sacking through the court system would have to be paid for by the employee.
Under the new legislation, unfair dismissals will be recognised only if they contravene very specific grounds — such as if the dismissal was proven to be on the basis of the worker's gender, race, union affiliation or religion. No employer in their right mind with 100 or less employees would openly terminate a worker on these grounds, but instead seek other grounds not covered by the government's new unfair dismissal laws.
The $4000 worth of legal aid Howard is offering is a long way short of the $30,000 that the ACTU estimates it would cost a sacked worker to prosecute their employer.
Janine Freeman, assistant secretary of UnionsWA, joined other trade union leaders in condemning the move as a farce. Freeman pointed out that legal challenges to unfair dismissals are rare; only one case has been through the courts in Western Australia in the past seven years. She said that this is "tacit acknowledgement ... that workers are facing an unwieldy, complex and expensive system".
From Green Left Weekly, October 12, 2005.
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