EDITORIAL: WA households suffering as Labor IR changes embolden unions

Union muscle ruled in the 1970s and held the economy to ransom. And there is every reason to fear that we are seeing a return to the bad old days.

Data released in September by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the nation lost 120,000 working days to industrial action last financial year, a surge of 80 per cent.

And it could not come at a worse time.

Figures released on Wednesday showed the economy clinging to life via a government spending spree, as growth nears the slowest pace in decades and consumers close their wallets.

The weak pulse — just 0.8 per cent growth for the year to September — will pile on the pressure in Canberra as a Federal election looms, with the economy top of mind for voters.

On Thursday Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott called for a rolling back of the nation’s IR regime and warned a rise in strike actions would hurt already-stretched households and feed inflation.

As the chief of Australia’s biggest conglomerate — which owns Kmart, Target, Bunnings and Officeworks — he voiced concerns about the rise in “aggressive” industrial actions across the country.

In November, Woolworths warehouse workers in Victoria walked off the job indefinitely, leaving supermarket shelves bare and costing the supermarket giant $50 million.

Mr Scott said the action would “ultimately increase the cost and complexity of the supply chain”.

“What that means is unfortunately, families will end up bearing the burden of those additional costs and it will add to the inflationary challenges we have at the moment.”

When asked if the Government needed to wind back IR laws that have emboldened unions, Mr Scott said there was an “opportunity to reset the arrangements” to create “more of a win-win arrangement that will lead to more sustainable wage growth and more efficient ways of working”.

“At the moment, we are seeing a very restrictive, onerous, inflexible, industrial relations framework evolving,” he said.

On Wednesday, building unions vowed to fully support the striking Woolworths employees, declaring “touch one, touch all” and pledging to send large numbers of construction workers to back them up on the picket line “at a moment’s notice” if necessary.

In WA, it has been revealed a powerful union alliance for offshore gas workers was referred to WorkSafe after The Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association made a formal complaint alleging online posts were being used to “humiliate, intimidate ... or bully” individuals and companies. Some posts compared gas companies and employees to the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

It is clear the union movement is growing in confidence and alarm bells should be ringing.

The nation is in need of an economic defibrilator, instead we are getting a union-applied handbrake.

Families facing burdensome interest rates and a crushing cost of living will not look kindly at any Government measures which have allowed union disruption to put them under even more pressure.

They will have their chance to register their displeasure at the ballot box before long.