Crossbench Senators have voted with Labor and the Greens to establish a Senate inquiry that will revisit how pay and conditions in the trucking industry impact road safety.
The Queensland Law Society has detailed a host of concerns about the Coalition's proposed "ensuring integrity" legislation, arguing its broadening of recommendations by the royal commission into trade unions is unjustified, unfair and "contrary" to such established legal principles as presumption of innocence.
The Coalition should not make the "discredited and politicised" ROC the regulator of workers' entitlement funds, noting that even the Heydon Royal Commission didn't recommend going down that track, Shadow IR Minister Tony Burke told Parliament this week in his response to the "proper use of benefits" legislation.
ACTU leader Sally McManus has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, asking him to implement a three-point plan that would lift aggregate annual wage growth from the current level of about 2.3% to about 3.5%.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will ask IR Minister Christian Porter to review the IR system with a view to expunging barriers to "shared gains" for employers and employees, while he has also reiterated the Government's commitment to reintroducing the "ensuring integrity" legislation to target "thugs in militant unions".
In a finding that might influence Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins' inquiry into sexual harassment, a UK parliamentary inquiry has recommended legislating to outlaw non-disclosure agreements that restrict "legitimate discussion" of unlawful discrimination and harassment.
Labor's new shadow IR minister is prominent frontbencher and former SDA organiser Tony Burke, who in his youth won improved pay and conditions for paperboys after threatening to picket a newsagency.
Newly-installed IR Minister Christian Porter has singled out the ailing enterprise bargaining system as one of his first priorities, highlighting the need to reduce "complexities" standing in the way of agreement-making.
Re-elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed the importance of law enforcement in adding IR to the responsibilities of Attorney-General Christian Porter in his new ministry announced yesterday.
The Australian government needs to shake up the regulatory framework governing workplaces and competition if the country is to reignite wage growth and capitalise on the opportunities presented by the digital economy, according to an OECD report.
