The purpose of the seminars, was to give employees information and advice about the contents of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) under the new WorkChoices legislation.

At the seminar Printing Industries members were given a presentation by the Office of the Employment Advocate on the scope of the new agreements, following which, representatives from Printing Industries introduced members to a template Australian Workplace Agreement drafted by Printing Industries.

According to national director of employee relations for Printing Industries, Greg Parkes, it is important that employers understand their obligations as far as legal compliance is concerned, because of the recent changes in workplace laws.

“A lot of things have changed from the old legislation. So there are a few things in there that our members particularly need to know, such as the new terms of employment,” he says.

Parkes says, the workshops were a valuable opportunity for members to seek advice and improve their work practices by understanding more fully the workplace laws which, he says, have been misconstrued by the media.

“All the myths and media speculation about workplace agreements are dispelled in these workshops and you can hear it directly from the key personnel from the Office of the Employment Advocate,” he says.

“We have also launched our workplace agreement templates on the PrintNet website for members who could not make the planned workshops. The templates include a checklist to guide members to understand the key ingredients of workplace agreements and highlight prohibited content as prescribed by the WorkChoices legislation.

Parkes says, further workshops could be held in the future, depending on the outcome of a few government tenders.

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