WorkChoices eroded worker’s rights – Abbott

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has admitted that the Coalition’s WorkChoices laws have eroded worker’s rights but says that due to the deregulated labour market it should be easy for workers to get a new job.

"I accept that certain protections, in inverted commas, are not what they were,” he said. "[Finding alternative employment] is the best protection. Not going off to some judge, or industrial commission, that might order your employer, who you don't like, and he doesn't like you, to keep you in an unhappy partnership forever.”
 
The comment was captured on an amateur video at a local electorate function this week and screened on ABC’s Lateline last night.
 
Sharan Burrow, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), says that Abbott’s comments completely disregard employees’ desire for job security. “Tony Abbott is acknowledging people have no job security, have no income security, there is no independent umpire and he's not concerned about that," she said.