Senator ABETZ (Tasmania—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service and Minister for Employment) (15:03): As with all contracts, they come up for negotiation from time to time and it stands to reason that sometimes the employees will be paid under the Fair Work Commission modern award that is applicable or an enterprise bargaining agreement sanctioned by Labor's Fair Work Commission. That will determine the pay rate for those workers. If Senator Lines has a problem with the modern award or with a union negotiated enterprise bargaining agreement— The PRESIDENT: Pause the clock. Senator Lines: Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The question was: can the minister guarantee? The PRESIDENT: The minister is addressing the question and he has 23 seconds left in which to answer. Senator ABETZ: I cannot guarantee whether or not the unions will look after their members in a manner that Senator Lines would like them to be looked after. Senator Lines: Mr President, I rise on a further point of order. The question asked: will the minister guarantee that wages will not be cut by departments—nothing to do with unions. The PRESIDENT: The minister just said he could not guarantee, so I think the minister is being directly relevant. Senator ABETZ: The reason I cannot guarantee is because it is the trade union that will be negotiating these matters and this is a huge vote of no confidence by Senator Lines in the union. (Time expired)