The Coalition has largely succeeded in neutralising IR as a 2013 federal election issue by promising to retain – at least for one term – Labor's Fair Work framework, but Australia's two major parties are still going to the September 7 poll with some significant policy differences, including on paid parental leave, right of entry, and construction industry regulation. Workplace Express compares their IR policies and those of the Greens, whose future hold on the Senate balance of power is uncertain.
The federal government's Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 is through the House of Representatives with its right of entry provisions intact but with its bullying provisions delayed by six months and no expanded arbitration for greenfields bargaining or intractable disputes.
