Workers' Entitlements: Why Portability Remains the Sticking Point

By CPD/ACIRRT

12,000 workers lose their jobs annually because employers run into financial trouble, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures

The ALP has calculated workers received no entitlements after more than 130 Australian bankruptcies.

One way protection can be better secured is through portability of funds across an industry, rather than enterprise level. One of the major reasons for the great level of resistance to Manusafe (now the National Entitlement Security Trust or NEST) was the demand for portability. The Qld government has given "in-principle support for the negotiation and development of portability schemes". In the ACT a successful portability scheme has been established in the property management and cleaning industry. The article canvasses the views of the Australian Industry Group, the AMWU, the AWU and looks at the decision of Cmr Fisher in a Qld case.

(CPD/ACIRRT Workplace Intelligence; October 2002)