The Abbott government, already widely-hated for its Budget attacks on pensions, social security, higher education and Medicare, is now setting us up for WorkChoices 2.0.

That’s what’s behind the new Productivity Commission review of industrial relations that is under way and will report in November.

The Commission claims that it will take into account “fairness and equity” and has “no presumption about the desired direction, magnitude or form of changes to the workplace relations system”. We can take this with a pinch of salt.

The Commission published five issues papers on 22 January, which confirm that it will be targeting minimum wages, penalty rates, unfair dismissal protections, protections from bullying, working conditions and union rights. Individual contracts are also back on the table.

These are all on the hit list of the big employer lobby groups – the Business Council, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Industry Group. They have been joined by the Sydney Morning Herald, which on 24 January called the inquiry “a good idea”, as it might find “new ways to increase labour market flexibility”.

The bosses have been champing at the bit for further workplace relations “reform”. The hospitality bosses have already been blazing a trail when it comes to penalty rates – they have successfully stripped them back for casual part time workers. Other bosses are jumping on board to have weekend penalty rates eliminated or severely reduced.

Workplace “reform” has nothing to do with making working life better. It’s all about stealing from workers and giving to the rich. It’s not enough for the fat cats that the CEOs of the top 100 companies pocket 63 times the average wage; they want more. That’s what capitalism in Australia is all about.

We can expect that the Productivity Commission will do its best to oblige the bosses and their mouthpieces like the Herald. The Commission is a neoliberal think tank with a history of providing intellectual cover for government assaults on the working class.

Since its formation by the Howard government in 1998, the Commission has promoted privatisation, deregulation and attacks on social welfare. These have helped push inequality to its highest level for many decades.

The Commission is headed by Peter Harris, a longstanding senior bureaucrat who made his name carving up Telstra, privatising airports and deregulating the national railway freight network to give private operators the chance to pick up juicy contracts.

Given all this, it’s likely that the Commission will recommend lower minimum wages, reduced penalty rates, a further winding back of unfair dismissal protections, the reintroduction of statutory individual contracts and fewer rights for unions to strike. If even half of this gets up, many workers will suffer cuts to their weekly wages.

Abbott government agenda

The Abbott government has commissioned this review to give it the option of taking a version of WorkChoices to the next federal election with the support of some allegedly “independent” authority – just like it used the Commission of Audit to try to sell its Budget last year.

Abbott has already used the launch of the review to flag cuts to weekend penalty rates on the spurious basis that this will create more jobs.

The government has been trying to sneak in changes like these since it was elected in 2013.

Abbott’s minister Eric Abetz has been attempting to push amendments to the Fair Work Act which would reduce worker and union rights. Although these are currently stalled in the Senate, Abetz and Abbott are determined to keep on pushing.

The Abbott government has also mounted a lengthy Royal Commission into trade unions and established a new Building and Construction Industry Code, both aimed at smashing the construction unions.

It plans to weaken the already feeble protections for subclass 457 workers and enhance the bosses’ right to use this kind of bonded labour.

It is also trying to weaken industry super funds to sideline the unions and hand over rich pickings to its mates in the banks.

Union response

Victorian Trades Hall, the peak body for Victorian unions, has announced a campaign against any attempt to reintroduce WorkChoices. Secretary Luke Hilikari told the Age: “The union movement will mobilise against these cuts. This is WorkChoices 2.0 – it has nothing to do with improving the working lives of millions of Australians, it’s about cutting people’s wages and conditions.”

That is a step that needs to be taken by every union body across the country. The ACTU needs to stir itself to give some national lead to a fighting response.