THE Council of Small Business Australia (COSBOA) is backing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims today, after his announcement that the competition watchdog would be taking further legal action against Coles, amid allegations of engaging in ‘unconscionable conduct’ against suppliers.

Peter Strong, Chief Executive of COSBOA said he was very happy with the ACCC for their continued pursuit of a fair and just marketplace, not just for businesses, but consumers too.

“This can only have a positive impact on the productivity of the nation. Coles and Woolworths have been allowed to dominate and thwart any autonomy, innovation, free thought, fairness and new business ideas for too long.”

Coles is accused of forcing suppliers to pay for the cost of wastage and theft, fining for late deliveries and deducting fees without explaining the reason plus much more. The latest proceedings come just five months after the ACCC accused Coles of forcing about 200 smaller suppliers to pay extra rebates.

“We hope and expect that the final recommendations from Harper review, together with support from the ACCC and action from the Federal Treasurer, will help us stop this kind of behaviour once and for all!

“No doubt the highly paid and experienced lobbying army of Coles and Woolworths will now be mobilised in a campaign to maintain their dictatorship. COSBOA will actively support the ACCC’s current pursuit and continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities for small business people everywhere,” Mr Strong concluded.

http://www.cosboa.org.au/

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VECCI chief executive Mark Stone claims the release of the 2013-14 Annual Financial Report for the State of Victoria shows aggregate payroll tax revenue was $19 million above the original budget estimate, largely reflecting growth in employment and earnings.

"Given that the total payroll tax revenue take is now almost $5 billion per annum – and forecast to rise by an average of 5.6 per cent over the next four years, the challenge for policy makers is to do what they can to keep Victorian business competitive," Mr Stone said.

"Business welcomed the recent cut in the payroll tax rate (from 1 July 2014), but reform should not stop there.

"VECCI’s Taking Care of Business state election agenda is calling on both major parties to increase the payroll tax threshold from $550,000 to $850,000 in order to encourage business and employment growth."

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential body for employers in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

vecci.org.au

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MANAGING the mental health of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) employees is a key priority of the wider workplace safety and wellbeing efforts of Australian resource employers, the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has told a Western Australian parliamentary inquiry.

In its submission to the Western Australia Legislative Assembly Education and Health Standing Committee Inquiry into mental health impacts of FIFO work arrangements, AMMA is cognisant of objective data suggesting mental illness and self-harm is no more prevalent in the mining workforce than other industries.

However, chief executive Steve Knott says an awareness of mental health as an ongoing risk that must be carefully managed has seen resource employers invest in an extensive range of proactive initiatives to maintain the wellbeing of their workforces.

“One suicide in the resource sector or broader community is one too many,” Mr Knott says. 

“Resource employers have implemented a number of initiatives to combat any risks associated with FIFO work practices. They are committed to promoting awareness and embedding fit-for-purpose, risk-based policies and procedures to protect the safety of their workforces.

“While we note from the experiences of employers and employees that there is no causal link between FIFO work practices and mental illness or self-harm, this is an area where we need to remain forever vigilant and continue to improve awareness and communication.”

AMMA’s submission notes that a range of publicly available data suggests there is no evidence that mental health issues are more pronounced in the resource industry compared to other industries.

For instance, a recent Safe Work Australia report attributed 0.6% of all mental stress claims in the Australian workforce to the mining industry.

Notwithstanding this, Mr Knott says there is a range of unique factors to FIFO work that must be acknowledged and managed by employers as part of their ‘whole-of-business’ mental health and workplace safety policies and initiatives.

“Proper mitigation strategies need to be considered to ensure risks to workers are reduced to the greatest extent possible. Other risks such as fatigue and drug and alcohol use are those which employers continuously monitor and address,” Mr Knott says.

“A common theme of feedback is that FIFO work is not for everyone, and resource employers go to great lengths in the recruitment stage to ensure people’s suitability to enter this lifestyle.”

AMMA’s submission also reiterates that FIFO work practices are essential for numerous projects in the Australian resource industry that may otherwise be commercially unviable.

With such working arrangements often suiting both employers and employees, there is a need for sensible and informed policy making in this area.

Click here to read AMMA’s submission to the WA inquiry into the mental health impacts of FIFO work.

www.amma.org.au

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IT IS extremely disappointing to see the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) continue its irresponsible and misguided economic attacks on some of the most important parts of Australia’s national resource industry, says AMMA, the Australian Mines and Metals Association.

"The MUA has today commenced its five-day strike at Mermaid Marine’s Dampier port operation in the Pilbara – one of the critical service and supply bases for the offshore oil and gas industry in the North West of Australia," said AMMA chief executive Steve Knott.

“For far too long the resource industry and the broader Australian community has put up with MUA threats to hold critical parts of our economy to ransom in pursuit of inflated wage increases, exorbitant allowances and attempts to control business operations,” says Mr Knott.

“In virtually every enterprise negotiation it is involved in across the resource and related sectors, the MUA has belligerently pursued unrealistic industrial claims well above those in other industries, with zero regard for the broader impacts of their actions and their impacts on working people.

“The offshore oil and gas industry has created thousands of employment opportunities and billions in economic value for Western Australia. The MUA’s ideological campaign against major project operators and their contractors and service suppliers is particularly flawed and misguided.”

In a separate matter also impacting the offshore oil and gas industry, AMMA continues to negotiate with the MUA for new agreements covering 21 vessel operator employers and about 2,500 employees in the maritime support sector.

“After more than 18 months, the union is still unable or unwilling to narrow its extensive shopping list of claims down to the core issues and give employers something to properly respond to. Rather, it has preferred to delay and frustrate proceedings to equip itself to take widespread strike action,” Mr Knott says.

“Whether it is threatening strikes against either of the Pilbara’s resource ports (Dampier and Port Hedland) or its disingenuous behaviour in the offshore maritime negotiations, the MUA must urgently reassess its approach and the wider impact it is having on one of the pillars of Australia’s economy.

“Our message to the MUA is drop the strike threats, drop the misguided campaigns against nationally important hydrocarbons projects, and get serious about working with resource employers towards sustainable and fair outcomes for the industry and all who work within it.”

www.amma.org.au

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