(shamelessy taken from the Trades Hall press release which will explain things much better than I could!)
As of 1 January 2005, you could be one of 350,000 Victorian workers eligible for higher rates of pay and better working conditions under new Common Rule Awards.
These include: overtime pay, penalty rates, allowances, annual leave loading, and redundancy pay.
This will mean that all Victorian workers will be eligible for award conditions. Award conditions are minimum rates of pay and sets of conditions that unions have over the years fought for and are set down in law.
However, just because they are law does not mean you employer will pay them. You need to make sure that your employer is paying you at the correct rate and that you are given all the rights you are entitled to.
In fact, in order to get out of having to pay minimum wages and conditions many employers are asking their workers to sign an individual contract, commonly known as an Australian Workplace Agreement.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU ARE OFFERRED ONE OF THESE YOU CHECK WITH YOUR UNION BEFORE SIGNING - YOU COULD BE SIGNING AWAY YOUR RIGHTS!
Read the complete press release at the following link...