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 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.
The ACTU has told a Senate inquiry into the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill that it will make it even harder for workers to take protected action, while the BCA says multi-employer bargaining should be restricted to low-paid sectors.
Despite Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke's reluctance to hold back parts of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill and its many "positive reforms", a leading labour law and IR academic says drafting issues and crossbench concerns will make fast passage a challenge.
The "lawlessness test" that is likely to prevent unions such as the CFMMEU from engaging in multi-employer bargaining could be made more specific after discussions with employers and unions, according to Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke.
The Albanese Government's IR legislation provides "big improvements" in the bargaining framework for low-paid workers, but the benefits of the multi-employer provisions might be more limited, according to a leading workplace law expert.
