As she prepares to step down after 12 years, the world's top union leader, former ACTU president Sharan Burrow, has hailed the Albanese Labor Government for moving swiftly to overhaul Australia's IR laws, including the planned introduction of multi-employer bargaining.
New Zealand's Ardern Labour Government is preparing for the introduction of occupational and industry-wide bargaining from December 1 after the passage of the landmark Fair Pay Agreements Bill last week.
America's Biden administration has unveiled a proposed legal change that would make it more difficult for companies to treat gig economy workers as independent contractors.
A new report says that wage theft in Australian freight shipping is costing seafarers about $65 million a year and necessitates changes to the Fair Work Act and greater powers and cooperation for regulators.
Teleworking, retraining and enhanced collective bargaining could lift pay growth that has been constrained by Australia's relatively "monopsonistic" labour market that gives a few dominant employers the upper hand in wage-setting, according to the OECD.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is seeking submissions on whether the Albanese Government should lower the Modern Slavery Act's $100 million reporting threshold and "more explicitly" spell out the "due diligence" steps companies should take to identify and address modern slavery, as part of a review of the legislation.
A leading gender and IR expert says Australian policymakers should "pay attention" to a UK parliamentary inquiry's recommendation that the Johnson Government make menopause a protected characteristic under anti-discrimination laws and that employers implement more menopause-friendly policies.
A leading labour economist has scotched suggestions that Australia has experienced a US-style "great resignation", explaining last year's higher job quit rate as a "catch-up".
