Although Mr Abbott has sought to keep his industrial relations agenda out of the spotlight during the election campaign, the public statements of employer and business groups speak volumes, said ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.
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ACTU analysis of hundreds of pages of employer submissions, public statements, media reports and other documents has revealed an agenda to strip unfair dismissal rights from workers, cut minimum standards, remove redundancy protections, and reintroduce individual contracts.
Right-wing lobby group the HR Nicholls Society have confirmed union concerns that these recently won rights for workers can be wound back through changes to regulations and Ministerial powers, without altering legislation.
Mr Lawrence said given the business agenda and Mr Abbott’s own statements before the election, voters had good reason not to trust the Coalition on WorkChoices.
“The Liberal Party’s silence over industrial relations in this election campaign has been deafening, but the public statements of employer and business groups speak volumes,” he said. “It’s all there in black and white. They want changes that would restore many of the worse aspects of WorkChoices.
“Before they adopted a small target strategy for the election campaign, Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and Julie Bishop spent months wooing business with promises they would make changes to the Fair Work laws if elected. They have explicitly promised to wind back protections from unfair dismissal, reintroduce individual contracts, and reduce minimum standards in awards.
“The ACTU has twice written to the Liberals and they have failed to guarantee they won’t return to WorkChoices through changes to regulations. They have never said these things are off the agenda, and big business is already gearing up to push for these changes after 21 August.
“Who knows what secret promises and deals have been made, but no doubt big business is expecting a pay back from the Liberals if they gain power. In the last couple of days, some business groups have broken cover - perhaps sniffing a Liberal victory in the wind - and begun openly pressuring for changes to the Fair Work laws.
“Through his refusal to release his industrial relations policy for public scrutiny, Tony Abbott is deceiving working Australians – just as John Howard did before the 2004 election, when he never sought a mandate for WorkChoices. Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz are treating voters with contempt by refusing to answer basic questions about what they would do if they gained power. Given their track record, working Australians can have absolutely no trust in the Liberals.”
New research by Monash University also shows that the last time the Liberals were in power, there was a massive shift in the balance of power to employers.