Resources employer group AREEA says the Loopholes Bill's labour hire provisions lack a proper exemption for specialist contractors and will kill off the use of on-hire workers, despite Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke's assurances that the drafting would take "very full account" of its concerns.
Ahead of its appearance tomorrow before the Senate inquiry into the Closing Loopholes Bill, the United Workers Union has urged the Albanese Government to amend the "same-job, same-pay" reforms in the legislation to make them "more efficient and sensible", while it has also warned that thousands of workers won't benefit because the process is too dependent on running cases in the FWC.
A leading IR academic kicking off a Senate inquiry's hearings into the Albanese Government's Closing Loopholes legislation has recommended passage of changes for "employee-like" gig workers and owner drivers, along with some "improvements".
The president of a nursing "red union" faces the sack from her hospital job after failing to persuade an appeal court that unauthorised media comments fell under protected industrial activity.
Adelaide University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart says he expects the Closing Loopholes Bill to be substantially amended before it is passed into law, to narrow some provisions and add others, giving employers time to "start thinking about the implications" and prepare for "big and important changes".
IR academic Chris F Wright has urged the Senate inquiry into the Closing Loopholes Bill to "recommend support" for the legislation, which he says is needed to update a regulatory framework that has "not adapted to fundamental changes in the labour market".
Federal Parliament has passed a trio of bills that establish the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service as an independent statutory HR agency and overhaul employment arrangements for parliamentary staff.
Employers can comply with the new "positive duty" to eliminate sexual harassment and sex discrimination by fostering a respectful culture, ensuring workers have avenues to report incidents, and taking a "risk-based" approach to prevention, according to Human Rights Commission guidance.
A leading IR lawyer says the Albanese Government's third tranche casuals provisions are a win for employers as they will provide "considerable certainty", but he predicts an ambiguous independent contracting test will produce "windfall gains and windfall losses".
