Australian Financial Review AAP Jan 5, 1999 http://www.afr.com.au/content/990105/update/update31.html Unpaid overtime could be illegal - Labor Council Employers could be breaking the law by forcing staff to work unpaid overtime, the New South Wales Labor Council said today. Council secretary Michael Costa said most workers in NSW were covered by industrial awards which required employers to pay overtime and penalty rates where people were working non-standard hours. His comments followed the release of research yesterday which showed Australians were working longer hours than they were two years ago and that the majority were not getting paid for the extra time spent on the job. The survey by human resources company Morgan and Banks found all employees were working at least an hour more than they did two years ago, with 74 per cent putting in between five and 10 extra hours. Mr Costa said while the trend in recent years had been towards labour market deregulation, protections for workers still existed through the award system in NSW. "Workers should be aware of these rights. Don't just assume that if your boss tells you to work back late without pay that you are under an obligation to do so," he said in a statement. "Employers relying on unpaid overtime to maintain their business' viability are not just contributing to unprecedented levels of stress in the workplace, they are also being shortsighted because this form of human resource management lowers firms' productivity and, ultimately, competitiveness. "Employers could also be breaching occupational health and safety laws which require employers to provide a safe place of work," Mr Costa said. He said the statistics confirmed Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last year showing one million hours of unpaid overtime were being worked every week in the finance sector alone. The Labor Council plans to hold a conference in February to canvass responses to the issues around working time. Mr Costa said it would consider a test case on job security through the NSW Industrial Relations Commission and other legislative responses. AAP c This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." end ============== Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
