‘Bias’: Fiery TV debate on right to disconnect laws

A senior MP has slammed the federal government’s new “right to disconnect” laws and accused ACTU secretary Sally McManus of trying to force unions to have a bigger role in society in a heated television debate. During the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday night, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke was asked about the right to disconnect by a small-business owner who said he had become increasingly concerned about what he said appeared to be a “significant bias” in recent industrial relations reforms. Mr Burke defended the right to disconnect, saying it effectively took Australians back to the right to their own time, a right that people had 20 years ago. But the opposition’s Paul Fletcher slammed the right and said it needed to be repealed. “Fundamentally what it does, is it breaches the trust that in good businesses and in good employers builds up between people,” he said. “This rigidity will add cost, add complexity and will see good businesses incurring costs and being frankly discouraged from treating employees with the flexibility that many of them already do.” Ms McManus asked: “Paul, do you think people should work for free?” “No, I don’t think people should work for free,” he responded. “Putting words in people’s mouths is not a good way to deal with a serious issue.” In another heated exchange earlier on the program, Mr Fletcher accused Ms McManus of trying to force unions to have a bigger role through the use of legislation. Ms McManus had been discussing the union’s push to allow some workers to work from home. Mr Fletcher said working from home worked well for some, but not as well for others. “Let’s bear in mind, most workers and most employers work it out without the help of a union because only eight per cent of private sector employees are members of a union,” he said. “Except we negotiate for everyone whether they are or not,” Ms McManus started to say, before she was cut off by Mr Fletcher. He said: “Whether they want you to negotiate for them or not.” But Mr Burke interjected, reminding Mr Fletcher that everyone was able to vote on an agreement. “There’s 360,000 extra Australians covered by agreements compared to what there were a couple of years ago. A lot of this is happening whether people are members or not,” he said. But Mr Fletcher responded: “None of which changes the fact that there are plenty of people who can work it out without the help of unions. Unions have a role in society but what you’re determined to do is try and to force unions into a bigger role through using legislation,” Ms McManus said that was not true. “That’s not true, that’s just ridiculous,” she said. “That’s so ridiculous.”