It’s already difficult enough to run a small to medium sized business in this economy, and with the Labor government shooting out their endless quiver of overreaching regulations, how many SMEs out there will start to revolt?

How about this one:

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s submission on the government’s second tranche of workplace reforms highlights obvious concerns for SMEs.

The criminalisation of underpayments might be just on the line of acceptable for most SME owners and operators, but now the government is going beyond its election promise and seeking to create criminal offences for what are merely “honest” mistakes.

This is unacceptable and puts small businesses at risk of criminal prosecution for something that was unintentional. The government needs to stick to its promises and not penalise Australians like criminals for making simple errors in an already over-complicated workplace regulatory environment.

The ACCI says:

“The government made a commitment to criminalising the “theft” of wages. It must abide by that commitment and refrain from criminalising conduct that cannot be appropriately classified as ‘theft’.”

ACCI are arguing no employer should be convicted for wage theft unless they “knowingly” acted with dishonesty, and failure to require dishonesty “would be a repudiation of the federal government’s commitment to criminalise ‘wage theft’.

So, what penalty is the government (and the ACTU) proposing to inflict on employers?

The proposal is to lift fines to $4 million for a broad range of offences, including underpayments to employees.

How do SMEs really feel about this barrage of regulatory penalties on Employers?

I’m all for the small and medium sized business owner, and I am baffled by the unfair treatment of the Labor government towards employers in Australia.

The constant barrage of regulations and red tape is suffocating our ability to operate and succeed. SMEs are being burdened with unrealistic wage increases, costly compliance measures, social justice ideologies, family dispute and violence management obligations, and punitive penalties for minor infractions.

It’s clear that the Labor government has no regard for the struggles of small businesses and their policies only serve to undermine the hard work and dedication of SMEs who are the only true backbone this country has.

It’s time for the ACTU and friends, and the Labor government to get a strong message against their misguided agenda. Which, we all know, is nothing more than a debt to the Unions for the funding they handed over to run election campaigns.