INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Firms face $75k cost for bargaining

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Department of Employment & Workplace Relations estimates that it will cost small businesses about $14,638 to engage in multi-employer bargaining. Medium businesses and large companies in turn will face costs of $75,148 and $94,311 respectively, according to the department’s regulatory impact statement. The federal government has based these estimates on an average consultant cost of $175 an hour. However, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar contends that businesses could expect to pay market rates of about $400 an hour. Meanwhile, Hancock Prospecting, has warned that multi-employer bargaining could threaten thousands of mining jobs and billions of dollars in royalty revenue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

More exemptions to salvage IR bill

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Senate inquiry into the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill has recommended increasing the threshold for small businesses to be exempted from multi-employer bargaining to 20 employees, compared with 15 under the existing provisions of the bill. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the government is willing to negotiate a higher threshold in order to secure the bill’s passage before parliament rises for the year. However, Burke notes that lifting the threshold too much would undo the central aim of the bill, which is to increase the wages of low-paid workers. Independent senator David Pocock has continued to push for a vote on the multi-employer bargaining provisions of the bill to be delayed until next year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Qantas on IR: flight routes will die

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Original article by Simon Benson, Sarah Ison, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Nov-22

Qantas is the latest company to express concerns about the federal government’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill. The national carrier told the Senate committee that is reviewing the bill that multi-employer bargaining would effectively become industry-wide agreements that would reverse Labor’s economic reforms of the 1980s. Qantas also said the proposed industrial relations reforms would give too much power to trade unions and the Fair Work Commission. Qantas added that the reforms would increase the cost of air travel and reduce demand for flights, which could result in less profitable routes and services being discontinued. Clubs Australia in turn has warned that multi-employer bargaining could force many small clubs to close.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CLUBS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED

Right to strike law risks jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Phillip Coorey, Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Oct-22

The federal government tabled its Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill in parliament on Thursday. A Senate inquiry into the proposed legislation will report on 17 November, after a push by independent senator David Pocock to delay it until February was rejected. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that he is open to making changes to the multi-­employer bargaining provisions of the bill, which will allow unions to undertake industry-wide industrial action for the first time. Business leaders have expressed concern about the proposed reforms; Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says they will result in more strikes and fewer jobs, while Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable warns that expanding multi-employer bargaining will "unleash industrial chaos" on the mining sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Labor scraps pay secrecy clauses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Oct-22

Federal cabinet has approved the Secure Jobs Better Pay bill, which will be put before parliament on 27 October. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says that helping to close the gender pay gap is a key objective of the bill. Amongst other things, the legislation will ban the use of pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts, while gender equity will be become a central objective of the Fair Work Act. The bill will also broaden the scope of multi-employer bargaining, simplify the ‘better-off-overall test’ and abolish the Australian Building & Construction Commission. A second tranche of industrial reforms in 2023 will include increased workplace rights for gig economy workers and ‘same job, same pay’ rules for labour hire workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Crossbench on front foot over IR

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 17-Feb-21

The federal government will not proceed with legislation to allow coronavirus-hit employers to temporarily bypass the Fair Work Act’s ‘better off overall test’. The ACTU and Senate crossbenchers have welcomed the decision, but contend that further changes to the industrial relations omnibus bill are needed. Shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke says the government had only backed down because it would not get the proposed reform through the Senate. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the remaining changes in the omnibus bill will ‘reinvigorate’ the enterprise bargaining system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Senior academics warn against IR bill

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 9-Feb-21

Professor Andrew Stewart from the University of Adelaide is among 23 labour law experts who have criticised key elements of the federal government’s omnibus industrial relations bill. Professor Stewart says a particular concern is the proposal to exempt some enterprise agreements from the ‘better-off-overall test’ for two years. The senior academics have also questioned the proposed definition of a casual worker. Professor Stewart stresses that the academics support some parts of the bill, such as increased penalties for wage theft.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Fair Work president resists Porter IR plan

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 8-Feb-21

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has rejected criticism of the federal government’s proposal for the Fair Work Commission to approve enterprise agreements within 21 days. FWC president Iain Ross has argued that this requirement is unnecessary and could result in unintended consequences, such as giving approval to workplace agreements that are subsequently found to contain technical or substantive defects. Justice Ross also warns that more applications for enterprise agreements may be withdrawn or rejected under the proposed reforms. The Senate will begin an inquiry into the omnibus industrial relations bill on 8 February.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Labor snubs job-saving IR reboot

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 9-Dec-20

Labor has advised that it will not support a key provision in the federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill. The controversial reform would allow the Fair Work Commission to approve enterprise agreements that do not comply with the ‘better-off-overall test’ in the Fair Work Act. The FWC will be able to take into account factors such as the impact of COVID-19 in approving non-compliant agreements. ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the proposed reform is ‘diabolical’, although it has been welcomed by business groups

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Kelty approves of super-union divorce move

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Dec-20

The federal government’s hopes of getting the unions demerger bill through parliament before it rises for the year have been boosted after Labor signalled that it will not opposed the legislation. Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty has expressed support for the legislation, and he contends that breaking up the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union would be quite easy as it is an ‘amalgamation of divisions’. However, Electrical Trades Union national secretary Allen Hicks says that despite targeting the CFMMEU, the legislation would have ‘unintended consequences’ for the entire union movement, and he has urged Labor to reject it.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION