WAGES – AUSTRALIA

Labor baulking at union calls for bosses to be jailed for wage theft

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jun-17

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Tony Sheldon says executives of companies that persistently engage in wage theft should face criminal penalties, which could include jail terms. ACTU secretary Sally Mc­Manus supports increased penalties for wage exploitation, arguing that the current sanctions are not a deterent. However, she does not support jail terms for wage theft, while the Federal Opposition’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor says Labor is not convinced of the need for such penalties.

CORPORATES
TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Slavery law to protect supply chains

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 5-Jun-17

The Federal Opposition will announce on 5 June 2017 that it plans to enact an Australian Modern Slavery Act. The proposed Act has the support of the Business Council of Australia, the union movement and Wesfarmers, which has noted the difficulty of ensuring that all parts of its supply chain are run ethically. The Global Slavery Index estimates that there are 4,300 slaves in Australia. Meanwhile, Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has confirmed to a recent Senate hearing that it is investigating pizza maker Domino’s over its possible involvement in wage fraud.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, BAIN CAPITAL LLC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Fall in collective agreements blamed on union coverage

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Jun-17

Research shows that just 36.4 per cent of Australian employees were covered by collective agreements in 2016, down from 43.4 per cent in 2010. The authors note that the proportion of workers covered by union agreements has declined since 2014, while coverage by non-union agreements has steadied after falling between 2010 and 2014. ACTU president Ged Kearney claims that on average, full-time workers who are covered by union agreements are paid an additional $A410 per week.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Ombudsman calls for tough work penalties

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 21 : 13-Apr-17

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James addressed a Senate inquiry on 12 April 2017. She conceded that the FWO has limited capacity to combat employers who deliberately ignore workplace laws because they feel that the potential financial penalties for underpaying staff are sufficiently low to make non-compliance worth the risk. James warned that employers will continue to exploit vulnerable workers unless the sanctions for non-compliance are sufficiently increased to provide a genuine deterrent. The inquiry is examining proposed changes to the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. SENATE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION COMMITEE, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Trump tax cuts must be matched

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Phillip Coorey, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Nov-16

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says official data showing that annual wages growth fell below two per cent in the September 2016 quarter demonstrates the need for company tax reform. He adds that Australia will become less competitive if it does not cut the tax rate and US president-elect Donald Trump reduces company taxes to 15 per cent. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott will also highlight the need for corporate tax reform at the organisation’s annual dinner on 17 November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Wages growth stuck at record low of 2.1pc

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Aug-16

The Wage Price Index for the June 2016 quarter indicates that wages growth has stagnated at 2.1 per cent for the past 12 months. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 17 August 2016 show that wages in the private sector increased by 1.9 per cent over the period, while the public sector recorded wages growth of 2.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ACTU, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Low wage growth sparks bleak outlook

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-May-16

The Department of the Treasury will release its pre-election economic and fiscal outlook on 20 May 2016. It is not expected to make any significant changes to the forecasts in the May 2016 Budget, although the outlook report is likely to highlight the risks to the Budget if the forecasts are not met. Slowing wages growth is looming as a key risk for the Budget, which has forecast wages growth of 2.25 per cent in 2015-16 and 2.5 per cent in 2016-17. Wages grew by just 2.1 per cent over the last year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Wage growth slumps to 18-year low

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 19-May-16

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that wages grew by just 0.4 per cent in the March 2016 quarter, and 2.1 per cent in the last year. Economists had forecast wages growth of 0.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively. David Bassanese of BetaShares says the low wages growth contributed to the Reserve Bank’s decision to reduce the cash rate in May, adding that further easing of monetary policy is likely.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Pressure on Shorten over penalty rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-May-16

The Fair Work Commission is likely wait until after the 2016 federal election to issue its ruling on weekend penalty rates. Unions have urged Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to introduce greater protection for employees who receive penalty rates, although the Australian Labor Party has previously indicated that it will not oppose the FWC’s ruling if it recommendations a reduction in Sunday penalty rates.

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

Brace ‘for another $129b’ in deficits

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Apr-16

Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics expects the Australian Government to announce a 2016 Budget deficit of $A41.7bn, compared with $A37.9bn in 2015. It would also be $A4.3bn higher than the Government had forecast in the mid-year Budget update. Richardson downplays the impact of the recent rally in the iron ore price on the deficit, arguing that slowing growth in wages will have a bigger effect on government revenue.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY