The Minerals Council is warning the Albanese Government against introducing vicarious liability provisions in new Fair Work Act discrimination protections, while also urging it not to replace the Barclay burden of proof test for adverse action cases, saying it risks giving a "green light" to misconduct for those claiming to be engaging in industrial activity.
Employers who pressure migrant workers into breaching their temporary visa conditions face criminal charges and increased fines under changes soon to be introduced by the Albanese Government.
A two-year pay freeze is set to be imposed on NSW politicians earning more than a base salary and the State's high-earning bureaucrats as the Minns Labor Government vows to redirect the savings to "essential service" workers such as teachers and nurses.
Many employers are still scrambling to work out what the next raft of Secure Jobs changes will mean for them when they take effect next Tuesday and fear being "caught by surprise", according to the Ai Group, while the FWC has added a series of videos to its information packages on the amendments.
A new report recommends creating specific Fair Work Act protections for gig workers in the care sector and reforming the NDIS and aged care funding and regulation models that "reward businesses that avoid the costs and responsibilities of directly employing personal care and support workers".
The MBA is today calling on the Albanese Government to give a firm undertaking to exclude industries outside the gig-economy before introducing legislation targeting employee-like forms of work, after IR Minister Tony Burke sought to hose down concerns it leaves the door open for a far broader remit.
The Business Council says the Albanese Government's "same job, same pay" proposal "mandates pay level irrespective of the qualifications, experience, knowledge, service and skills of a worker" and imposes "unreasonable costs and administrative burdens" on businesses.
A leading labour law academic has told an IR conference that expanding the FWC's power to arbitrate agreement negotiations will be "the single biggest challenge" posed by the Secure Jobs changes, while the head of a peak state employer group's law firm says it is the "Damoclesean threat of the sword" that will bring people to the table.
The Coalition has given notice of amendments to provisions in the Protecting Worker Entitlements legislation that would allow employees to authorise employers to make payroll deductions that vary from time-to-time, alleging it is a "pretty transparent attempt" by the Albanese Government to address the decline in union membership.
