Labour market to balance IR upheaval claim

Stan Beer
Monday, 21 November 2005 11:00

IT People - Enterprise

An Australian HR software solutions company says that a chronic labour shortage will absorb any short-term impact of the new IR legislation.

According to Silvano Bassom the managing director of HR software provider Aurion Corportaion, the IR legislation would be considered revolutionary only if it led to a mass review of HR, payroll and payment systems. However, Mr Bassano believes that is just not going to happen.

"Despite the hype, a payroll manager’s world will not be that much different the morning after the Government’s new IR legislation becomes law," said Mr Basso.

"Neither employers nor employees will suddenly abandon employment entitlement and benefits that have been built up over the years," he said. "Existing arrangements, for all their shortcomings, provide certainty and represent an agreed position.”

Mr Basso added:  "Add to that a chronic labour shortage and employers will not want to give their employees any more reason to look elsewhere. Changing someone’s entitlements is a sure way of doing that.

"Instead, the onus is on employers to make it attractive for their staff to stay. A new employee who finds out he is worse off than a workmate doing the same job can ask for more or go elsewhere.

"So, change will be slow and gradual," Mr Basso said.

Obviously, the labour union movement would disagree.