O75 Public Administration

Soaring electricity prices an obstacle to wage rises

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Original article by Jacob Greber, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 8-Sep-17

Employers’ groups have warned that the rising cost of electricity is affecting their capacity to grant pay rises. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox notes that companies’ margins are being hurt by rising power costs, while consumers in turn are reducing their overall spending due to the impact of power price hikes. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson adds that many companies are delaying investment decision due to rising power costs, and some are considering relocating offshore.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Australia’s real unemployment is up to 10.2% in August

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Sep-17

A Roy Morgan survey shows that 1.324 million Australians were unemployed (10.2% of the workforce) in August 2017. This is similar to a year ago (down 8,000, or 0.2%). However, more Australians are now under-employed than this time last year; 1.241 million (9.5%) Australians are looking for work or looking for more work), up a significant 324,000 (2.4%) in a year. In total, 2.565 million (19.7%) Australians were unemployed or under-employed in August – the 23rd straight month more than 2 million Australians were looking for work or looking for more work. The figures also show that 11,685,000 Australians were employed in August – an increase of 162,000 over the past year (an average of 13,500 jobs added per month). The Roy Morgan real unemployment figures are substantially higher than the current ABS estimate for July (5.6%). Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the large increase in part-time jobs over the last year (up 535,000 or about 45,000 per month) obscures the loss of full-time jobs (down 373,000, just over 30,000 per month).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

$9bn power hit for big firms

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Original article by Eli Greenblat, Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Sep-17

National Australia Bank’s chief economist Alan Oster has forecast that higher energy costs will add 0.6 per cent to the headline inflation rate for the September quarter. Companies that are major energy users estimate that their electricity and gas costs will rise by $A9bn, which in turn will affect profit margins, jobs and investment. Meanwhile, AGL Energy has advised that it has made no commitment to sell its Liddell power station or keep it operating beyond the planned closure date of 2022. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has claimed that AGL CEO Andy Vesey had indicated that the company would be open to selling the power station.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, DELTA ENERGY PTY LTD, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, COSTA GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CGC, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Consumer Policy Research Centre launched with Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Sep-17

Australia’s first ever consumer-focused think tank, the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), was officially launched in late August with input from an expert panel consisting of Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine; consumer behaviour specialist, Dr. Paul Harrison; and leading economist, Riki Polygenis. The CPRC is a not-for-profit consumer policy research centre focused on increasing transparency around consumer outcomes and experiences and supporting improvements in market practices in the interests of the consumer; improving access and effectiveness of dispute resolution and information and education in consumer decision making taking account of the impact of a world moving increasingly online. Click through to view a video of the launch.

CORPORATES
CONSUMER POLICY RESEARCH CENTRE, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Rio Tinto pushes for GST shake-up

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Sep-17

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the distribution of goods and services tax revenue is "unfair and counter-productive", and action is needed to ensure that Western Australia receives an equitable share of the revenue. Jacques has also used a Mining Week event to call for changes to the nation’s corporate tax regime, arguing that Australia now boasts the sixth-highest company tax rate among OECD nations, while he has called for a national approach to energy policy.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Wage growth going backwards

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 7-Sep-17

National accounts data shows that 240,000 jobs were created in Australia during the year to June 2017. However, the figures also show that wages grew by just 0.7 per cent in the June quarter and 2.1 per cent year-on-year. Likewise, annual growth in compensation per hour is at its lowest level in almost 25 years, at negative 0.3 per cent in the June quarter. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe recently forecast that growth in wages in some sectors will eventually be extended to the broader economy, but the national accounts data suggests that this is not yet occurring.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

No pay for workers’ blood donations

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 7-Sep-17

The Fair Work Commission has rejected a union’s push for employees to be given two hours of paid leave to donate blood up to four times a year. In ruling against the application by the shop assistants’ union, the FWC took into account factors such as the likely impact on productivity and the fact that donating blood is voluntary and can usually be done outside of working hours.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICE, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Unions ‘skim’ $130m off funds

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Sep-17

Data from the Australian Electoral Commission shows that the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union was paid around $A75m from employer-funded worker entitlement trusts between 2011-12 and 2015-16. In all, 14 unions were paid a total of $A130m from these trusts over a five-year period, with unions receiving more than $A58m in payments from redundancy funds and $A38m from training funds. There is little regulation of worker entitlement funds, which receive compulsory contributions from employers.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN METAL WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC, ENERGY, INFORMATION, POSTAL, PLUMBING AND ALLIED SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS

Pay shake-up looms for nation’s retailers

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 29 : 6-Sep-17

The majority of large Australian retailers have union-endorsed enterprise agreements, but grocery giant Coles is widely tipped to abandon its disputed workplace agreement in favour of the industrial award system, a move that is likely to be followed by other retailers. Coles employees who are on weekend shifts would receive a pay rise, although staff who only work on weekdays would face a pay cut unless Coles implements a "grandfathering" arrangement for existing employees. About 300,000 employees of large retailers would be affected if the awards system is widely adopted, as well as potentially a further 100,000 fast-food workers.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fears lingering over franchisors dodging new law

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 27 : 6-Sep-17

The Australian Government’s legislation to protect employees from being exploited is intended to increase the liability of franchisors for the illegal work practices of franchisees. However, Giri Sivaraman of law firm Maurice Blackburn warns that franchisors may try to circumvent the tougher regime by claiming that they had taken reasonable measures to combat wage theft. Higher financial penalties will apply for "deliberate and systematic" underpayment of wages, but the University of Sydney’s Stephen Clibborn cautions that this may be hard to prove.

CORPORATES
MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP