Speakers at an IR conference have emphasised the importance of early, transparent consultations when introducing automation and AI-related change, but a lawyer says locking into a formal process too soon is risky.
The Australia Institute is urging the FWC to increase award and minimum wages by 7.5% to 11.1%, to "undo the damage" to real wages inflicted since the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compensate for the forthcoming cost of living increases caused by the Middle East conflict.
Employers have described today's FWC decision to abolish junior rates for 18 to 20-year-olds as "disappointing" and a "financial blow", as the tribunal conceded the likelihood of a negative effect on employment of workers as businesses adjust to increased labour costs.
FWC-ordered minimum wage increases play a "critical role" in "reducing entrenched, intersectional wage inequality" for Aboriginal workers, who are more likely to be award-reliant, the Centre for Indigenous People and Work says in what is likely the first annual wage review submission to focus solely on First Nations workers.
The Albanese Government has again kept its election promise to urge the FWC's Annual Wage Review bench to order real wage increases for award-reliant and minimum wage workers that keep pace with the cost of living.
The ACTU is seeking a 5% rise in award rates and the federal minimum wage to keep pace with cost-of-living pressures "that have gotten a lot tougher" with the fuel price rises from the Middle East war and interest rate hikes.
The FWC has delivered on its vow to expeditiously insert a far broader delegates' rights term in all awards in response to a full court last month finding its initial attempt "impermissibly confined", a judgment that prompted the Commission to thank parties for their patience because of resultant delays to approval of agreements.
A FWC full bench has approved two major infrastructure deals after receiving undertakings addressing its concerns about delegates' rights clauses in the wake of last month's full Federal Court judgment upending restrictive provisions the tribunal itself inserted in nine awards.
A FWC full bench has slightly altered the issues it will consider in its review of award part-time provisions after considering submissions and is seeking further feedback this month on the scope of a research proposal.
