The scheme to temporarily bring low-skilled Pacific Island workers to Australia to build skills and send funds back to their families is being subverted, according to a new report that claims highly-trained workers are performing low-skilled roles, while hollowing out the ranks of skilled workers in their home countries.
The FWC has ruled that an employee working in Saudi Arabia for a company based in that country has "no greater connection to Australia than employees in foreign lands sewing bikinis that will then be sold in Australian retail stores to women who will wear them on Bondi Beach".
Australian women are more likely than men to retire early, citing health concerns, menopause, pay imbalances and caring responsibilities, but many say pay parity and greater flexibility would help them stay in the workforce longer, according to a seven-country survey.
An employer representative involved in negotiating a new ILO gig work convention says it might require a "significant" expansion of Australia's current regulatory regime, while imposing "more onerous" obligations on platforms using algorithmic management systems.
Saudi Arabia's Australian cultural mission has succeeded in sidelining a Federal Court judge from sitting on a full bench that is reviewing whether it is protected by diplomatic immunity from underpayment claims brought by 45 former employees.
A new UK bill introduced by the Starmer Labour Government seeks to reduce the qualifying period for protection from unfair dismissal from two years to an employee's first day of work, although employers will potentially have an initial nine months in which to sack those "not right for the job".
The UK Government is considering introducing reforms to stop employers using labour-hire arrangements to short-change women, as part of a suite of changes aimed at ending workplace pay discrimination.
The FWC has cleared the way for a Philippines-based paralegal to pursue her unfair dismissal claim, finding her an employee of a Queensland law firm that paid her $12 an hour below award.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking a labour hire company to court for unlawfully deducting $500 fines from migrant workers' pay when they breached its drug and alcohol policy.
