Bosses win landmark right to sack workers

The Federal Government is defending its industrial relations (IR) laws after the Australian Industrial Relations Commission found in a landmark ruling that a worker was sacked legally after 19 years' service.

Large businesses are exempt from unfair dismissal regulations under the laws if they fire an employee for "genuine operational reasons".

The full bench of the commission yesterday delivered a liberal interpretation of exactly what that means.

It found it was legal for cinema giant Village Roadshow to sack Warren Carter, the general manager of a Melbourne cinema complex, because the complex was being demolished.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Sharan Burrow is appalled by the ruling on last year's sacking of Mr Carter.

"In this case, 19 years of service counts for nothing," she said.

"When a huge corporation like Village decides that it owes an employee no loyalty and doesn't even seek to, worse, try to redeploy them, it simply makes them redundant at whim."