The Wire

At the last federal election, Kevin Rudd promised to junk the coalition’s Work Choices industrial relations regime. Labor’s alternative, entitled the Fair Work Bill, is about to go before the senate tomorrow, right when job losses are starting to climb. In preparation for the senate debate, the unions have launched a new advertising campaign targeting Liberal politicians who they fear may block the bill in the senate. They say that in the face of the recession, workers’ protections are needed now more than ever, but business groups are concerned that the changes will cost jobs.