The Minerals Council has entered the IR debate with a call to outlaw industrial action over labour hire and contracting-out, sideline unions and make it more difficult to enter workplaces and establish unlawful adverse action.
Australia must "redress the imbalance in bargaining power" held by workers and unions to reduce economic inequality, according to Federal Opposition workplace spokesperson, Brendan O'Connor.
Unions are seeking the reinstatement of powers to inspect non-members' time and wages records, after their analysis of 200 job advertisements aimed at Chinese, Korean and Spanish-speakers showed that almost four out of every five pay less than the award.
New ACTU secretary Sally McManus has defended her support for unionists to break "unjust laws", arguing the ability to strike is a "human right" and that Australia is out of step with international labour conventions.
The Federal Government should consider requiring APS agencies to report to the WGEA on their performance against gender equality targets, University of NSW researcher Sue Williamson told an IR academics' conference this month.
The Turnbull Government has confirmed it will make a submission to the Fair Work Commission on how to handle the transition to lower penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared that energy will be the "defining debate" of the coming Federal parliament, rather than further promised IR changes and other new legislation.
A Shorten Labor Government would set a target of apprentices filling at least one in every 10 jobs on major projects, the Opposition Leader said today.