The National Retailers Association has called on the newly formed Migrant Worker Taskforce to present proposals that assist small business to protect migrant workers from exploitation.
Federal Minister for Employment Senator Michaelia Cash announced the taskforce on Tuesday, naming Professor Allan Fels as its chair.
The taskforce will provide advice to the Government on how to better protect overseas workers.
“The Government and the taskforce need to remember that the current laws can be quite complicating for small business,” NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said. “The NRA has often spoken about how difficult it can be for small business owners to understand fully their obligations under the extensive and complicated workplace relations regime, and to ensure they are fully complying with every requirement.
“The overwhelming majority of employers do the right thing by their employees, and when the rules are difficult or confusing they err on the side of benefiting their employers.
“The taskforce should provide proposals for improvements in the law that help small business do the right thing in the first place, rather than simply punish them after they’ve done the wrong thing.”
