Today's Liberal leader Tony Abbott was a key Minister in the former Liberal Government that introduced WorkChoices. Now, he wants to bring it back. He just won't call it WorkChoices.

When he was first elected leader of the Liberals, Mr Abbott said, "The phrase WorkChoices is dead," and it is now clear that this means he will only change its name.

UNFAIR DISMISSALS
At a recent meeting with business executives, Mr Abbott said he will remove protection from unfair dismissal for workers in small business.

When Mr Abbott released his book last year he was asked if he would revisit WorkChoices and remove protection from unfair dismissal. His evasive answer was;

"Well, if we are going to have productive workplaces, we can never bring down the curtain on workplace reform."

CUTS TO PAY AND CONDITIONS
Mr Abbott has also promised a return to individual contracts. AWA individual contracts were banned by the Rudd Labor Government because they led to widespread cuts to workers' pay, conditions and rights.

But Mr Abbott has said he will bring them back.

Mr Abbott has also said he would remove the requirement that youths be engaged for a minimum number of hours and employers would be obliged to pay them only a minimum rate.

This means employers would be able to call in staff and send them home after as little as half an hour. It would mean more than two million casual workers would be worse off and could reduce workers' take home pay by more than $100 a week.

PENALTY RATES AT RISK
Hundreds of thousands of Australians rely on overtime rates to compensate them for working shifts at night or on weekends. These are also at risk under the Liberals.

A newspaper article titled "Penalty rates face changes under Libs" reports that Liberal spokesman Eric Abetz avoided making a guarantee that weekend penalty rates would not be cut.

But pressed whether that meant all penalty rates were safe, including those on the weekend, he replied: "Let's wait and see what the policy will be."

THE LIBERALS' WORKCHOICES
NEVER FORGET: Under WorkChoices, Australian workers faced the following cuts to their rights:

• Protection from being sacked unfairly was stripped away from more than three million workers.
• Employers had the power to put workers onto AWA individual contracts that cut the award pay and conditionns.
• The award safety net was effectively abolished and changes to minimum wages laws drove down the pay of low income workers.

Young workers, women and casuals were the most vulnerable to WorkChoices and ended up being its worst victims. More than a million low paid workers suffered real pay cuts of up to $90 a week from WorkChoices' changes to minimum wages.

Thousands of workers were pushed onto AWA individual contracts and:

• 70% lost shift loadings
• 68% lost annual leave loadings
• 65% lost penalty rates
• 49% lost overtime loadings.
• 25% no longer had public holidays

Working Australians and their families CAN'T AFFORD TO GO BACK to WorkChoices!