Herald Sun
9/11/98

Warning of work change
CENTRELINK D-DAY

By David Luff

WELFARE agency Centrelink will today reveal plans to restructure, expected to cost thousands of jobs. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith said he wanted to be assured that Centrelink continued to deliver services efficiently, Centrelink administers the government's privatised Job Network, as well as all welfare payments.
"There have been problems with Centrelink and in particular referrals to Job Network members," Mr Reith said.
As many as one quarter of Centrelink's 24,000-strong staff are tipped to be made redundant.

WORKERS should prepare for a fresh wave of labor market changes.
The Federal Government yesterday cited a report showing 500,000 new jobs would flow from workplace reforms.
The renewed push came as statistics showed one in three Australian workers put in at least 50 hours a week at the workplace, with most employees missing out on overtime pay.
A national survey showed the standard 40-hour week had virtual, become redundant, with almost two-thirds of employees working unpaid overtime every week.
More than half of Australia's six million fulltime workers toil for more than 40 hours a week, with bosses placing unrealistic expectations on their staff, according to the ACTU study to be released today.
ACTU secretary Bill Kelty cited the figures in highlighting the growing incidence of work overload on the average Australian worker.
The ACTU plans a work-to-rule campaign later this week, with unions urging members to impose overtime bans and take all rostered breaks to reduce work overload.
About a third of Australian employees work more than 49 hours a week, while the ratio of workers regularly putting in more than 60 hours a week has doubled in the past 20 years to 7 per cent of the workforce.
Sixty per cent of the time put in on top of the standard working week is unpaid overtime, increasing the pressures on the average worker.
"Work overload is a health and safety hazard. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure a healthy and safe place to work," Mr Kelty said.
Workplace-related stress has been linked to heart disease, arthritis, ulcers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and prompted suspicions of links to cancer, according to the ACTU.
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith cited a report for economist Des Moore advocating further deregulation of the labor market -including scrapping of minimum wages.
"Attempts to reduce income inequality through labor market regulation which prescribes minimum wages are likely to be inefficient and ineffective," Mr Reith said of the report's findings.
He said the report found high minimum wages reduced employment prospects but was adamant the government was not preparing to cut minimum wages.
Mr Moore, from the Institute of Private Enterprise, predicted deregulation of Australia's labor market was likely to result in an extra 500,000 jobs.
Changes to unfair dismissal laws are likely to be at the top of the list of changes, with measures malting it harder to dismiss employees stopping bosses from taking On new staff, the report found.
Mr Reith said the government would examine the report, adding "any plan create 500,000 jobs deserves reasoned public debate."