Less than 2% of private sector workers will be covered by agreements by 2030 if the current rate of decline in bargaining continues, according to new analysis by the Centre for Future Work.
The legal definition of employee should be broadened to cover anyone who agrees to supply their labour, according to a new book on addressing Australia's wage stagnation.
The 2016 ruling that a new enterprise agreement covering Coles failed the Better Off Overall Test helped trigger a dramatic fall in enterprise bargaining, according to new research
Union calls for a return to industry-wide bargaining to boost workers' earnings have won the backing of the OECD, which says in its annual global employment report that negotiations across industry sectors can lead to "lower wage inequality".
In a development that might fuel debate over the links between union power and wage rises, substantially above-average pay increases secured in the heavily-unionised construction sector have pushed bargained private sector wage rises off their recent historic low.
A review of the 2015 amendments to the Fair Work Act's greenfields agreements provisions has rejected union pleas to axe "last offer" arbitration - despite a failure by employers to utilise it - and has recommended reducing from six months to three the "negotiating period" before the FWC can break deadlocks.
The Department of Employment has told a Senate inquiry that almost two-thirds of large fast food, retail, hospitality and pharmacy deals pay less than the award for Sunday work.
New data shows the Fair Work Commission's "triage" process for assessing whether enterprise agreements pass the Better Off Overall Test is resulting in closer scrutiny of workplace deals.
A Senate inquiry has recommended passage of a bill that scraps mandatory four-yearly award review and has backed the FWC's proposal to backdate provisions allowing the tribunal to correct minor errors in bargaining notices.
Average pay rises in private sector agreements struck in last year's December quarter returned to the recent trend of about 3% a year, according to new Department of Employment data.
