INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – LAW AND LEGISLATION – AUSTRALIA

BHP urges Labor to fix IR before issuing subsidies

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Original article by Peter Ker, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Feb-24

BHP CEO Mike Henry says the resources group would be supportive of any assistance for Australia’s embattled nickel industry, such as a short-term production tax credit. However, he warns that a tax credit may not be sufficient to save the industry, given the significant challenges facing the nickel market. Henry adds that getting industrial relations policy right is more important than offering subsidies and rescue packages. BHP in particular will be impacted by the same job, same pay’ regime for labour hire workers. BHP’s wholly-owned labour hire firm, Operations Services, pays workers less than their colleagues employed on site-specific enterprise bargaining agreements. BHP’s Western Australian nickel mines are among the sites that use Operations Services workers.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OPERATIONS SERVICES

IR laws to help workers by closing loopholes

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Aug-23

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that wages increased by 0.8 per cent in the June quarter, the same pace as the two previous quarters. Wages growth eased to 3.6 per cent in the year to June. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says that after 11 quarters of wages not keeping up with prices, the moderating inflation rate has caught up with wages growth. He adds that while the federal government’s first tranche of industrial relations reforms in 2022 were aimed at lifting wages across the board, the second tranche is aimed at closing loopholes that affect the wages of individual workers. Burke says the reforms will have a "very modest" economy-wide impact on wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Bosses angry at big stick threat

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Dec-22

The Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association alleges that unions are seeking to delay negotiating new workplace agreements until the multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation take effect in mid-2023. AREEA CEO Steve Knott says union tactics such as stalling negotiations or encouraging employees to vote down proposed enterprise agreements are expected to become commonplace in many sectors of the economy in the first half of 2023. However, the Electrical Trades Union’s acting national secretary Michael Wright says AREEA should be working with unions on meeting the challenges that workers and employers currently face.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY EMPLOYER ASSOCIATION, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Labor willing to engage on IR changes: Burke

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 27-Nov-20

Shadow employment minister Tony Burke says Labor is likely to pass the federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill if the proposed reforms are based on those agreed upon by the Coalition’s working groups. However, Labor will refer the legislation to a Senate committee, which ensure that the bill is not debated and voted upon before Parliament rises for the year. The government has given indications that the reforms will include changes to the Fair Work Act’s ‘better-off-overall-test’, although reinstating the ‘no disadvantage test’ will be on its agenda.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Morrison wins crossbench support for jobs plans

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-20

Centre Alliance will back the federal government’s push to extend temporary changes to the Fair Work Act which allow bosses to vary the hours an employee works and the duties they perform. One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has signalled that he is also likely to side with the government, which would require only one more crossbench vote in the Senate. The industrial relations changes are linked to the government’s revised JobKeeper scheme. The bill will be put before parliament within days.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY

Labor likely to back extension of IR changes

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Jul-20

Labor has given indications that it will support an extension of coronavirus-induced temporary changes to workplace laws that allow employers to reduce their employees’ hours of work and change their duties and location of work. However, this would be conditional on the JobKeeper scheme being extended in the federal government’s upcoming economic statement. Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the government should announce details of any changes to the JobKeeper program immediately.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ACTU boss opposes tax cut for workers

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Jul-20

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged the federal government to extend the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme for an additional six months. It is slated to end in late September, but McManus says the union movement will not support an extension of temporary changes to workplace laws unless the scheme is extended for all eligible workers. McManus also opposes bringing forward personal income tax cuts, arguing that it will lead to less money being spent on essential services. She adds that company tax cuts should not be considered until tax loopholes and rorts have been addressed.

CORPORATES
ACTU

Porter cuts fast-track rule on new work deals

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 12-Jun-20

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has advised that a temporary change to workplace laws in response to the coronavirus has been repealed. The notice period for changes to enterprise agreements was reduced from seven days to just 24 hours in April, prompting unions to warn that it could be open to abuse. Porter says a review found no evidence that the regulation had been misused, and he stresses that the change was always intended to be temporary and is no longer needed. The Federal Court was scheduled to rule on the regulation’s validity on 12 June, following a legal challenge by the construction union.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Porter to consider EBA change limit

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-May-20

The Greens will back Labor’s Senate motion to disallow a regulation that temporarily reduces the notice period for changes to enterprise agreements from seven days to just 24 hours. Attorney General Christian Porter has signalled that the federal government may be open to One Nation’s proposal to limit any such variations in enterprise agreements to 12 months. The regulation is slated to expire after six months; shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke contends that as it stands, any variations to enterprise agreements will remain in place after the pandemic abates, and they will need to be removed via another vote by employee

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Labor launches Senate push to reverse IR changes

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Apr-20

Shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke has questioned the need for reforms which reduce the amount of time employees are given to vote on proposed changes to workplace agreements from seven days to just one. The reform was prompted by the pandemic, but Burke argues that any such changes to enterprise agreements will remain in place after the coronavirus abates and will need to be removed via another vote by employees. Labor will put a disallowance motion to the Senate when parliament resumes, and it intends to seek the support of crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY