Master Builder Australia suggests dumping the Fair Work Amendment Bill

Master Builders Australia (MBA) is recommending that the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 gets set aside or reconsidered to allow time for the proposed changes to be properly assessed.

If the amendments are not properly considered, MBA is suggesting that the bill gets scrapped altogether; saying that four months from an election is no time to make wide-ranging changes to workplace relations.

One of the proposals would enable employees who feel bullied at work to apply to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop the bullying, which is one of the points that MBA finds contentious.

"For government to proceed with anti-bullying measures when its own code of practice is not complete and the public comment period on the draft does not end until 15 July 2013, is poor policy," said Wilhelm Harnisch, chief executive officer of Master Builders.

Mr Harnisch was mostly negative about the proposals, also mentioning the consent arbitration as "too big a step to take without thorough scrutiny by affected stakeholders", but he did note one point worthy of merit.

"Master Builders commends the government for removing extended rights of entry for union officials," he said.