HOCKEY STICKS IT TO WOMEN WORKERS

20 February 2007

SA Unions says the Joe Hockey junket to "sell" the federal government's unfair IR laws in marginal liberal seats is utterly insulting.

SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says Mr Hockey is not off to a good start in his new portfolio.

"Mr Hockey has been ducking and weaving the findings of the Peetz report, which shows the IR laws are hurting workers, especially women."

"Mr Hockey's response is to meet with bosses at a transport depot and dodge the questions put to him by pensioner protestors."

"He obviously doesn't have the bottle to face up to the women who have been hard it by the laws."

"The laws Mr Hockey is trying in vain to sell have especially stuck the boot into women workers. Nationally they have had a 2% drop in wages, but in South Australia it is worse - they have lost 2.5% of pay."

"That's $23 a week less than they were earning before these changes were imposed."

"In the real world, it means the wage rise delivered by the minimum pay case has been taken away from them."

"It has set their earning back more than two years compared to CPI."

"Mortgage rates have risen, the cost of living is rising, yet wages are being cut as a result of these laws. It is harder and harder for women workers to make ends meet."

"For Mr Hockey to swan about the marginals trying to sugar coat the worst industrial laws in history while avoiding its hardest hit victims is utterly insulting. The real world for SA workers is nothing like that in Mr Hockey's cushy north Sydney seat - he needs to come here not as a snake oil salesman, but instead to listen and learn what it is really like for workers doing it tough", Ms Giles says.