DEWR secretary Natalie James has defended her department's working from home arrangements and explained why they are different from the newly-passed laws giving employees a right to disconnect out of ordinary hours.
The Albanese Government plans to introduce a bill at the end of the week to remove the threat of criminal penalties from its Closing Loopholes right to disconnect provisions that are slated to pass Parliament today, but the Coalition has pledged to repeal the measures if it wins the next election.
While major changes to the NSW IR Act that usher in mutual gains bargaining and scrap the State Government's power to cap wages are now in effect, parts of the legislation that re-establish the Industrial Court are yet to be proclaimed.
DP World has told a Senate hearing into the remaining Loopholes measures that the stevedoring industry should be shielded from protracted bargaining conflicts, warning that multi-employer bargaining could cripple ports.
Controversial former Victorian Liberal Senator David Van has put himself forward to negotiate changes to the Closing Loopholes legislation when it comes up for debate in the Senate early next year.
As the Albanese Government pushes for the passage of its Closing Loopholes legislation that provides new protections for "employee-like" workers, the ABS has revealed its first "experimental estimates" indicating that digital platform workers account for 1% of the working population and most commonly perform food delivery and personal transport tasks.
JobKeeper kept people in work and prevented widespread business failures during the coronavirus pandemic, but in future crises the Government should consider improvements, including a tiered wage subsidy, according to Treasury's evaluation of the landmark scheme.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has committed to make significant changes in the way the Closing Loopholes Bill treats casual work, according to the Australian Hotels Association.
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".
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.
