Family First Senator Bob Day has used his first speech to parliament to press his argument for allowing job seekers to opt out of the regulated IR system if it will help them get work.
The Law Council has come out against the Coalition's proposed creation of an independent appeal jurisdiction for the Fair Work Commission, saying the current mechanisms "do not need to be altered".
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has told the AiG and others lobbying for accelerated IR change to take a "deep breath" and focus on what is already on the table.
Senior Victorian Government Minister Robert Clark has told the HR Nicholls Society that he has drawn on all three of his portfolios to combat bad behaviour in the building industry and has flagged changes to strengthen the guidelines for contractors seeking state government work.
A new report from a major employment law firm predicts that the Senate will pass the Abbott Government's Fair Work Act and building industry amendments, suggests the next reforms will be limits on industrial action and productivity requirements for enterprise agreements, and highlights the lower than expected activity in the FWC's anti-bullying jurisdiction.
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has moved quickly to douse suggestions from a junior minister that the federal government is looking to reform penalty rates, issuing a short statement this afternoon that any claims that it is planning to alter the way they are determined are "false".
The Abbott Government has sought to allay fears over a proposed Australian-first pilot program for Darwin employers to sponsor overseas workers, arguing it will be capped at 500 positions.
In a new report, the Business Council of Australia has turned its sights on penalty rates, the permitted content of enterprise agreements and unwanted third party intervention in employment relationships, at the same time advocating that the safety net of pay and conditions be "strongly enforced".
