The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) welcomes the proposed labour agreement for overseas workers in the tourism and hospitality sectors, but says fundamental changes are needed to Australia’s workplace relations system to provide relief for business.

The development of a template agreement is an important step by the Federal Government towards easing current skills pressures affecting tourism and hospitality businesses, and we must also not lose sight of the need to tackle the systemic problems business owners are grappling with.

We need real world solutions to reflect the reality of modern workplaces and ensure Victoria’s tourism industry remains competitive and can meet future challenges.

For example, modern awards do not reflect the reality of today’s tourism workplace which is a 24-hour, seven-day operation. Tourism should not be penalised for often operating in non-standard hours. The scheduled review of the Fair Work Act provides an opportunity to fundamentally revise Australia’s industrial relations system.

It’s not just a handful of business owners that are being affected by the current workplace relations framework. Tourism is a major employer, with 193,000 Victorians working in the industry. The sector contributes $15.2 billion annually to the state’s economy.