Small business accuses Morrison government of an “act of political bastardry” by dropping plans to criminalise wage theft. Says Coalition would be “morally bankrupt” unless it made a new bid to legislate tougher penalties for underpaying bosses @australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/small-business-accuses-morrison-government-of-political-bastardry-over-wage-theft/news-story/c38e30d2258b39134dc4ec01523d125b

Mark McKenzie, CEO of Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, said his support for tougher penalties might seem odd given fuel retailers were the “poster child of wage underpayments” but ripped-off workers and businesses were being hurt by dodgy companies.

. @COSBOA chief executive Peter Strong said his members were “livid” that competitors were getting a commercial advantage by underpaying workers, and the government’s decision to pull the wage theft measures from the IR bill “looked like payback”.

Rival employer groups attacked COSBOA’s position, saying they would accept the government reviving the wage compliance measures only if they were part of a package that included the original bill’s proposed changes to awards, enterprise bargaining and greenfields agreements.

Acting Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Jenny Lambert said it was “unbelievable that any business organisation would argue for higher fines and jail terms for businesses, especially small businesses, separate from the package of other reforms contained in the bill”

. @sallymcmanus said the Morrison government “caved to the most extreme elements of the big business lobby by scrapping the wage theft element of the IR bill, which had broad support from unions and employers.”