INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Key crossbenchers in bid to split up IR bill

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Sep-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has reiterated that the federal government wants the entire Closing Loopholes Bill to be passed by the end of 2023. This follows a push by Senate crossbenchers to remove four provisions from the bill and legislate them by the end of the year. They include proposed changes that would make it easier for first responders such as firefighters and ambulance crews to claim workers’ compensation for job-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Independent senator David Pocock says this would allow more time to consider the more contentious elements of the bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Burke to get extraordinary IR powers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Sep-23

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says the Closing Loopholes Bill contains at least 32 clauses that will allow Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke to give himself new regulatory powers. He says this is an "extraordinary" number, and argues that it will heighten uncertainty about the real cost of the proposed industrial relations reforms to business. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn in turn says the ministerial powers will create greater uncertainty for independent contractors and businesses when entering commercial arrangements. Amongst other things, Burke will have broad powers to issue regulation that change the definitions for labour hire rules and gig economy workers’ pay.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY,MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

BHP says IR changes to cost more than $1.3b estimate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Sep-23

BHP estimated in May that the ‘same job, same pay’ policy for labour hire workers would cost the resources group about $1.3bn a year. However, BHP believes that the actual cost may be much higher, given that the explanatory memorandum attached to the Closing Loopholes Bill could potentially capture mining service providers such as Thiess and Downer EDI. BHP did not take such providers into account when it released the initial estimate. BHP says it supports the intention of the bill with regard to low-paid and vulnerable workers, but argues that it is not appropriate for the mining sector; BHP notes that the average wage for employees in its Operations Services division is nearly $150,000 a year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,THIESS PTY LTD,DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW

Labor’s IR push driven by myths, slogans: AiGroup

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 2-Aug-23

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox contends that the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms will not help to boost productivity. He will use a National Press Club speech on Wednesday to argue that many of the proposed reforms are in fact "anti-productivity". Willox will also argue that the government’s IR agenda is focused on slogans such as ‘get wages moving’ and ‘same job, same pay’, when its priority should be to reduce the complexity of the IR system. Willox says a simpler and more transparent workplace system should be the goal.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Labor mulls IR relief amid employer fury

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan, Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Jul-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the federal government may be open to exempting small businesses from its plans to allow casual workers to switch to permanent employment after six months in a job. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has expressed concern about the potential impact of the casual labour reforms on small businesses, noting that many are already struggling in the wake of the pandemic, natural disasters and the cost-of-living crisis. Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey contends that the proposed reforms do not make sense, as businesses may offset their increased costs by downsizing their workforce. He adds that most of the retailer’s casual staff prefer the increased flexibility compared with permanent employment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Business to target Burke in IR battle

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Jun-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has criticised an advertising campaign opposing the federal government’s proposed ‘same job, same pay’ law for labour hire workers. He says the advertisements’ claim that inexperienced labour hire worker would have to be paid the same as an experienced, full-time employee is false. However, the employers’ groups that are funding the campaign will persist with it; they intend to target Burke’s electorate of Watson in particular, via mobile and fixed billboard ads. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently stated that the labour hire reforms would be "limited and targeted".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

New IR laws won’t hurt tradies, minister vows

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-May-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has emphasised that tradespersons and subcontractors in the construction industry will not be significantly affected by the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms. Burke says the new minimum standards for ’employee-like’ independent contractors will apply only to gig economy workers. His comments have been welcomed by Master Builders Australia’s acting CEO Shaun Schmitke; however, he says the government should make it explicitly clear that the legislation will be limited to gig-economy workers and provide an undertaking to exclude other industries before the legislation is introduced.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Firms war-game the new IR rules

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Nov-22

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has indicated that it will continue to use enterprise agreements rather than shifting to multi-employer bargaining. CFO Anthony Gianotti says Wesfarmers believes that traditional enterprise agreements are the best way of driving real wage growth. Ramsay Health Care’s CFO Martyn Roberts in turn says that negotiating pay rises across rival companies in the same sector may be "quite challenging". Gianotti adds that the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms have not gone far enough in simplifying the industry awards system.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers and businesses

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Chris F Wright
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 24-Nov-22

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers’ groups. However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining. The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements. The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers. Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

CORPORATES

Burke flags more IR exemptions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says 97.5 per cent of businesses will now be exempt from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill’s single-interest multi-employer bargaining stream. This follows the federal government’s decision to increase the employee threshold for small businesses from 15 to 20, in line with a Senate committee’s recommendation. However, the Opposition has called for the threshold to be increased to 200, while business groups want it to be set at 100 employees. The government’s compromise means that an additional 500,000 businesses will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining. The government is still in negotiations with independent senator David Pocock.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS