A jobs guarantee and universal basic income are among the policies government must embrace if Australia is to avoid a technology-led march towards inferior low-paying jobs, a leading academic has told a Senate inquiry into the future of work.
Requirements for bargaining representatives from this week to disclose financial benefits stemming from enterprise agreements before workers vote on them will make it easier to track the revenue the deals generate for unions, employers say.
Employers who defy orders to pay superannuation to their employees will face jail terms of up to 12 months under draft legislation unveiled today by the Turnbull Government.
Employers opposing the merger of the CFMEU, MUA and TCFU have warned the FWC that the unions would use their combined might to cripple the resource and construction industries, but they argue that in any case more than 45 pending penalty proceedings should legally disqualify them from amalgamating.
If proven ability to interpret and enforce rules and skin thick enough to withstand regular abuse are among the prerequisites required to lead the construction industry watchdog, then new Workplaces Minister Craig Laundy would appear to have chosen well.
The IR portfolio has been demoted in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's reshuffle this afternoon, with the role given to a new junior minister, Craig Laundy.
The AWU is seeking access to documents on the "political purpose" of the Registered Organisations Commission's decision to investigate past donations by the union, the Federal Court has heard.
FWC President Iain Ross is proposing to delay starting the next four-yearly review of awards that is due to begin "as soon as practicable" after January 1, but is seeking parties' views on the issue.
The FWC has confirmed it will conduct a hearing on the CFMEU, MUA and TCFU merger on February 2 in Melbourne, subject to any Federal Court application for an inquiry into the unions' ballots within 30 days of their declaration.
