The Senate has this afternoon extended the deadline until tomorrow for the report of the Secure Jobs Bill inquiry, which will hear last-minute evidence from the DEWR and FWC in the morning.
As she prepares to step down after 12 years, the world's top union leader, former ACTU president Sharan Burrow, has hailed the Albanese Labor Government for moving swiftly to overhaul Australia's IR laws, including the planned introduction of multi-employer bargaining.
Key crossbench Senator David Pocock says the vast majority of the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill is "good to go" and he is committed to working through his concerns about the rest of it in the next few weeks, including locking-in a review of the legislation.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says that "conversations are happening" on extending the sitting of the Senate beyond December 1 as he tries to win support from key crossbench senators for the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill.
Woolworths has called for the Albanese Government to initiate an urgent "proactive review" of the retail award, arguing it would produce better outcomes for their predominantly female workforce than a shift to multi-employer bargaining.
The FWC has upheld Victoria Police's rejection of a transit officer's flexibility request because it would exacerbate already "bleak" safety issues arising from understaffing in Melbourne's most crime-affected region.
Adelaide University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart has told a Senate hearing that the Albanese Government should withdraw and rework a contentious aspect of its Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, suggesting there is a "problem with the legislation" if as a technical expert he is unable to answer a simple question about coverage in the single interest bargaining provisions.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has warned that the prescriptive amendments sought by business and employer groups to the Secure Jobs Bill's multi-employer stream could render it as "ineffective and unusable" as the 13-year old Act's low paid bargaining stream, which hasn't been used since 2014 because parties "gave up on it".
While the Albanese Government remains hopeful it can make multi-employer bargaining changes more palatable to win Senate support, a labour law expert says onerous requirements will limit the effectiveness of the expanded single-interest stream.
The Albanese Government will today table its foreshadowed amendments to the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, as it seeks to provide "more comfort" to key Independent Senator David Pocock on proposed multi-employer bargaining reforms.
