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The concerns of female owners in particular have gone unheard, she says, and pay claims could backfire.
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IR reforms will end up closing small business, says advocate
03 November 2022
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Small business – especially those run by women – will suffer most if the government’s industrial relations law goes through unchanged and many will be forced to close, says the founder of Small Business Women Australia, Amanda Rose.
She said the views of female small business owners had been overlooked in the sometimes heated debate over the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill introduced to Parliament last Thursday.
For most businesses, the focus of concern has been Labor’s intention to expand the multi-employer bargaining system, which would allow workers across multiple small companies to band together while negotiating pay deals.
Ms Rose said women business owners were community-driven and nurturing by nature, with a desire “to help their team and employees as much as possible”.
But with profit margins already at an all-time low, plus the added expense of a rise in superannuation and increases in overall costs, small business owners would be unable to afford wage increases and many would be forced to close.
“A lot of small business owners are already in debt, and the majority of them will not have the resources – time or money – to pay someone to translate what is happening or to advocate on their behalf,” she said.
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“Whole-of-industry bargaining doesn’t account for the fact that every business is different. The whole point of the bill is for wage increases but wage increases should also be dependent on upskilling the individual.
“What should be happening is a discussion on how the government can support small businesses to facilitate their staff to upskill to be qualified to get a pay rise.”
She said the bill could backfire on employees, too.
“They could get all hyped up and then everyone gets caught up in demanding a pay rise, but when the small business owner cannot afford it and ends up closing their business, then they are out of a job.
“Employees are being told, ‘You have the power, you can demand a pay rise’, but if your business can’t afford to pay this on top of all the other increases they are having to pay, then they shut their doors.”
Ms Rose said the emphasis should instead be on promoting pathways to upskilling.
“I do believe in people being paid what they are worth, and most small business owners look after their staff,” she said. “They are the largest employer in the country, and they will be impacted the most by this bill.
“They are holding up the economy, employing people, and if they start shutting down, the unemployment rate will go up.”
Ms Rose said many small business owners were becoming overwhelmed with what is being expected of them and female in the sector were feeling it most.
“I feel like in this whole process the small business community has been excluded from negotiations and female small business owners have not been considered at all,” she said.
“Women in small business don’t get the same investments as men or have the same networks as men, to ask for help.
“They often work 20 hours a day, seven days a week. This bill is not taking into consideration that small business owners have to do everything.”
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