Shorten confirms Labor’s phoney penalty rates campaign

Bill Shorten has finally come clean and confessed to Australians that the Labor Party’s long-running campaign on penalty rates has been a sham.

Speaking with 3AW’s Neil Mitchell this morning, Mr Shorten confirmed that the Labor Party will accept the decision of the independent Fair Work Commission when it hands down its penalty rates determination: a process instigated by Mr Shorten when he was Minister for Workplace Relations.

Federal Member for Forde Bert van Manen MP said Mr Shorten’s confession exposed as bogus the political campaign on penalty rates that the Labor Party had run – in conjunction with the union movement – in which they have said they would “save weekend penalty rates.”

MITCHELL

The Fair Work commission will report soon on Sunday Penalty Rates. They’re an independent body, in fact you’ve had a lot to do with the way they operate now when you were Minister. Will you accept their finding given this is an independent body assessing penalty rates for Sunday if you’re PM?

Well, I said I’d accept the independent tribunal. 

Bill Shorten must now explain to Australians why he has accepted the Coalition’s position on penalty rates, given the public fearmongering campaign he and Labor have associated themselves with.

Bill Shorten has how confirmed that a Shorten led Labor Government policy on penalty rates is the same as the Coalition’s policy: penalty rates are a matter for the independent Fair Work Commission to determine.

“There is only one person and one party that has a history in cutting penalty rates and that is Bill Shorten and Labor,” Mr van Manen said.

Today the Government calls on Bill Shorten to come clean with the Australian people on his own dealings as a union leader when it comes to the issue of penalty rates.

Bill Shorten was the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU), when it entered into an agreement with Cleanevent which removed all penalty rates for low paid cleaners, with no compensation.

At the same time, Cleanevent paid the AWU $25,000 per year and provided lists of employees’ names so that the AWU could stack its membership.

“Mr Shorten should be judged by his actions not his promises. He professes to stand up for workers however his actions speak louder than his words,” Mr van Manen said.

His union on his watch stripped away penalty rates from Australia’s lowest paid workers in return for secret cash payments. This is a matter of historical fact.