As COVID-19 amplifies pressure for workers to have greater rights to "disconnect" outside of working hours, the Irish Government has asked its Workplace Relations Commission to develop a code of practice to promote the practice.
Unions say Uber's failure to convince the UK's Supreme Court that its drivers are independent contractors or that their working time only includes periods carrying passengers is set to be "very persuasive" in the Australian context.
International Trade Union Confederation secretary and former ACTU president Sharan Burrow has told a parliamentary inquiry that the Omnibus IR Bill's casual employment provisions are likely to breach Australia's obligations under ILO conventions and recommendations, ahead of a hearing in Canberra on Friday.
New US President Joe Biden has come to office on a "pro-union" platform pledging to increase the national minimum wage to $US15 an hour and push through laws making it easier for workers to organise and bargain collectively.
A leading international IR academic has called for optimism and political courage to forge a new post-pandemic social contract designed to build more productive and resilient economies while rebuilding worker trust and making workplaces more inclusive.
A UK proposal to cap wages at £100,000 ($180,000) to finance low- and middle-income-earners' increases is not the best way to redistribute incomes and lift living standards, according to the Centre for Future Work, which says that targeting soaring corporate profits is "more powerful".
The New Zealand Labour party has put industry-wide bargaining on the table ahead of next month's national election after pledging to legislate Fair Pay agreements endorsed by former conservative Prime Minister Jim Bolger.
As some employers suggest that FWC's minimum wage panel might need to freeze or cut minimum pay due to the coronavirus crisis, the UK has lifted its wage floor to 60% of the median.
A Sydney University think tank has warned that a post-coronavirus reversal of globalisation could reduce labour productivity by up to 12%, when Australia could enjoy a 9% labour efficiency boost by matching world-leading levels of internationalisation.
