The Government’s JobKeeper measures are an injection of hope which will give much needed flexibility and help keep millions of Australians connected to their workplaces, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.
“Delivering greater flexibility will help keep businesses afloat and workers on their books. Crucially, this is a package that will help us act as quickly as possible across the whole economy to make sure people don’t slip through the cracks.
“More can be done to keep Australia in a strong position for the recovery. The Government has set a very high threshold for Australia’s largest employers. Australia’s largest employers urgently need the ability to temporarily alter working hours and leave arrangements in consultation with unions so they can avoid falling into serious distress.
“We need to consider all options to fast track varying enterprise agreements. This will be critical to ensure businesses have the flexibility they need as borders close, regular duties change and normal business hours decrease. We cannot afford for large employers to fall into serious levels of distress.”
“If we wait until large employers have lost more than 50 per cent of their turnover before they can vary awards and enterprise agreements many people will have been stood down in the process.
“This crisis will end and when it does our large employers need to be in the best possible shape so they are ready to ramp back up quickly.”
