INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Retailers seek minimum-wage freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-18

National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb says the Fair Work Commission should leave the minimum wage unchanged in 2018, arguing that retailers cannot afford a rise in base wages given the current trading conditions. In contrast, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 per week, while the ACTU has pushed for a rise of $A50 a week. Labor in turn has called for an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Unions in push for $50-a-week minimum pay rise

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the ACTU’s proposal for a 7.2 per cent increase in the minimum wage would result in fewer job opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed, while people on low incomes would have less job security. He has urged the Fair Work Commission to limit the 2018 increase in the minimum wage to 1.8 per cent, which equates to $A12.50 a week. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in turn supports a 1.9 per cent increase, or $A13.20 a week. The FWC approved a 3.3 per cent rise in the minimum wage in 2017.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Employers lash Coalition on union merger

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Mar-18

The merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia is slated to take effect on 27 March, after it was approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Australian Mines & Metals Association has urged the Federal Government to push for the Senate to block the merger prior to this date, although Workplace Relations Minister Craig Laundy argues that the Ensuring Integrity Bill is not retrospective so it would have no impact on the merger. The merged union will boast 144,000 members and $A310m worth of assets.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Fair Work slams Caltex franchise model

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 5-Mar-18

Service station operator Caltex Australia advised in the week ending 2 March that it will abandon the franchise model for its outlets. Its announcement preceded a rather damning report into its franchise model by the Fair Work Ombudsman, with an audit finding that 76 per cent of franchised Caltex stores it examined were exploiting their staff. Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that in light of its report, she is not surprised by Caltex’s decision to exit franchising.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, UNITED PETROLEUM PTY LTD

Underpaid, overworked, fearing sack

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Age – Page: 8 : 2-Mar-18

Fifty-nine per cent of workers who took part in an ACTU survey stated that they are worried that they will lose their current job in the next couple of years. Over 70 per cent expressed the view that they felt as if they are working harder for less pay, while 80 per cent stated that getting a reasonable pay rise was difficult. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, says the crux of the survey results is that workers want reasonable wage rises and more job security. The ACTU intends to use the results of the survey to back its case for an increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Get a real job (for once) O’Connor, instead of fiddling with commission

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 20-Feb-18

A proposal by the Opposition’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor to transfer responsibility for setting the minimum wage from the Fair Work Commission to the Federal Government was ill-considered. There is some merit in having the minimum wage set by the independent umpire, which takes into account factors such as the state of the economy. It should be noted that people on low incomes are most at risk of being retrenched or having their working hours cut if an increase in the minimum wage is excessive. Likewise, many people on the minimum wage are in fact from wealthy households.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Federal agencies to dodge union deals

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Feb-18

Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd says smaller government agencies are most likely to ditch enterprise agreements under the Coalition’s new policy on public sector bargaining. It allows departments and agencies to opt for alternative workplace arrangements such as common law employment contracts. Lloyd notes that unions tend to have greater influence on workplace negotiations in larger agencies, where enterprise agreements will most likely continue to prevail. The new policy has been criticised by Labor, which has raised the spectre of a return to the WorkChoices era.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Do not resuscitate: enterprise bargaining deserves a burial

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Australian – Page: 12 : 6-Feb-18

The enterprise bargaining system is largely defunct in Australia, with the exception of the public sector and a few private companies. The proportion of employees covered by enterprise agreements has been declining since it peaked in 2010, while the proportion of workers covered by industry awards has risen from 15 per cent to around 25 per cent since then. The Federal Government should pursue reforms such as ensuring that enterprise agreements are no longer allowed to continue beyond their expiry date, because it is almost certain that Labor will seek to revive enterprise bargaining if it wins the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED

Union living wage an $8bn hit on bosses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Feb-18

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry estimates that the ACTU’s proposal for a "living wage" would cost between $A5bn and $A8bn a year. The ACCI’s Scott Barklamb warns that fixing a living wage at 60 per cent of the median wage by 2020 would require annual increases in the minimum wage that are double the 3.3 per cent rise announced by the Fair Work Commission in 2017. He adds that the living wage proposal would result in job losses and could threaten the viability of some businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Builders facing bans for displaying Eureka flag

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Feb-18

The Australian Building & Construction Commission says construction firms may be ineligible to tender for federal government projects if workers display union slogans or logos on employer-issued clothing and equipment. The revised national construction code, which was released in 2016, includes more strict restrictions on displaying union-related logos and slogans than the 2013 code. Dave Noonan of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union says the ABCC’s "anti-union ideology" has not changed since Stephen McBurney replaced Nigel Hadgkiss as commissioner.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED