In a unified stance, the CEOs of chambers across Australia are urging the Senate to reconsider the implications of “rushed and flawed” industrial relations legislation, highlighting its impact on the small and family enterprise business community described to be “already under significant pressure from rapidly rising costs.”
In a joint statement, the leaders express “grave” concern over the unfavourable effects the proposed legislation could inflict upon business owners and operators, particularly those in the nascent stages of growth.
They emphasize the legislation’s potential to undermine the welfare of employees, contrary to its intended protective measures. Additionally, they describe the legislation as threatening to destabilize communities relying on the resilience and expansion of local businesses, which employ millions of Australians across various sectors and regions.
“Most of our members are small businesses that contribute so much, and we will burden them with additional constraints and costs. These costs will be passed on to the community or result in the loss of jobs. Or both. Small business owners are already subject to a bewildering array of bureaucratic constraints, and this legislation will further bind them in red tape,” the statement said.
The leaders listed the particular elements that “worried” them:
In a resolute stance, industry representatives emphasized their disagreement with industrial relations laws that they find to potentially hinder business owners’ wealth generation and impede small business owners’ growth, job creation, and skills investment.
The leaders who signed the joint statement included the following:
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