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Unions and workers say a push from Anthony Albanese to place people in insecure work at the heart of industrial relations reform in Australia is long overdue.
But Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has criticised the proposed policy, calling it one of the most unlimited, unqualified, quite outlandish promises to be made in the country s history of industrial relations.
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Mr Albanese s policy push would include vowing to guarantee workers in the gig-economy the minimum wage and conditions through the Fair Work Commission.
He will also pledge action to address increasing casualisation in the workforce and the need to guard against the exploitation of employees working for labour hire companies.
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The countryâs largest business network is calling on the federal government to extend powers introduced alongside its $90 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme that let struggling businesses cut staff hours as part of its proposed industrial relations overhaul.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry argues the governmentâs IR bill, introduced to Parliament in December as a key plank of its plans to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic, will generally be good for jobs and businesses.
Employers and unions are trying to sway crossbench senators Pauline Hanson, Stirling Griff (left) and Rex Patrick on industrial relations.
Tony Burke and Christian Porter. Source: AAP/Lukas Coch.
The debate over the Coalition’s industrial relations omnibus bill is escalating, with Labor saying it will oppose reforms which would result in pay cuts for workers.
The
Fair Work Amendment Bill, introduced to parliament late last year, proposes a suite of new arrangements including larger penalties on employers who deliberately underpay workers, a new definition of a casual worker, flexibility of award penalty rates for part-time workers, and the suspension of the Better Off Over All Test (BOOT) in certain circumstances.
Federal Labor revealed in parliament on Tuesday that it would oppose the bill in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The coalition s industrial relations bill has sparked a fierce backlash from Labor and unions, which argue changes to the better off overall test could leave workers worse off.
There has been criticism of a CFMEU ad that shows Scott Morrison speeding a bus towards a group of workers, with employers saying it trivialises victims of road accidents.