Senate amends Fair Work bill, but changes will be overturned

A late-night deal between the Coalition and independent senators has seen the Rudd Government’s Fair Work bill  finally pass the Senate – but the saga is far from over.

The Coalition and Family First Senator Steve Fielding voted for an amendment proposed by independent senator Nick Xenophon that resulted in the threshold under which small businesses are protected from unfair dismissal claims rising from 15 staff (including casuals and part time staff) to 20 full-time equivalent staff.

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard are furious with the change, and look certain to send the bill back the Senate today.

The Rudd Government insists it has a mandate for the 15 person threshold, given that it released this policy position before the last election.

“If you were to accept the amendment … another half a million Australians out there (are) without effective protection from unfair dismissal,” Rudd told ABC radio this morning.

The Government now appears certain to use its numbers in the Lower House to reject the Senate’s amendment and send the bill back to the Upper House.

If a deal cannot be reached today, the bill is unlikely to be passed until the middle of the year, delaying the start of the new regime.

But the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia chief executive Jaye Radisich has welcomed Xenophon’s amendments.

“Under the Xenophon amendment passed by the Senate, employees’ rights remain protected and small businesses will have more confidence to be able to hire people at a time when the country’s economic future is uncertain.”

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