The Bracks government will try again to overhaul the state's industrial relations system by introducing new legislation into the Spring session of Parliament.
The move follows the failure of a similar attempt last year, which was blocked in the Upper House by the Liberal Party.
Industrial Relations Minister John Lenders says the Federal Awards (Uniform System) Bill 2002 aims to ensure the same basic employment conditions apply to all Victorian workers, employers and businesses.
It would reinstate conditions taken away from more than 500,000 state workers under the Kennett government and create a single industrial relations system.
"We want to give Victorian workers the same minimum conditions and safety net as those already provided to other Australian workers under federal and state awards," he says.
Lenders says that in December 1996, when the previous state government referred its industrial relations powers to the federal government, more than 350,000 disadvantaged workers lost access to minimum conditions and entitlements.
"While workers covered by federal awards are entitled to up to 20 employment protections, Schedule 1A employees (those previously employed under state awards) are only entitled to five basic conditions. They're enduring the worst minimum employment conditions in Australia," he says.
"Schedule 1A workers are not entitled to conditions that many Australians take for granted, such as penalty and over-time payments, leave loading, personal, carer's and bereavement leave, allowances and redundancy pay.
"They often work in low-skilled, poorly paid jobs – almost one in five are paid less than $10.509 an hour."
Lenders says the new Bill consists of two parts: the first is a mechanism to enable the federal government to extend federal awards standards to Schedule 1 workers.
"If the federal government refuses to adopt these referred powers, we will develop our own proposals top apply federal awards, by common rule, under Victorian legislation," he adds.
"Our proposal has strong support from employers and employer groups who are sick and tired of their good employer status being under cut by unscrupulous operators who operate under the minimalist Schedule 1A arrangements.
"It will also cut red tape and eliminate the need to understand two different sets of industrial relations, payroll and working conditions."