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.
Trade union membership has fallen below 15% even as ABS data published today shows members earn almost $300 a week more than their non-union counterparts.
Sham contractors face higher penalties and a harder time showing they have inadvertently misrepresented employment arrangements under legislative changes contemplated by a Treasury discussion paper.
The ACTU has released a new paper which argues that most casual workers get nowhere near the 25% loading due to them, instead receiving a "modest wage premium" of 4% to 5% more than permanent employees.
The push to criminalise so-called "wage theft" by employers might be a less effective deterrent than an increased number of civil prosecutions, according to a new academic paper.
The gender pay gap has dropped from 24.7% to 21.3% over the past five years but many companies are still harbouring an "action gap", with policies in place but no accountability for implementing them, says the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
Labour costs have fallen for the second successive quarter to leave an annual decline of 1.2% in trend terms, while productivity has continued to rise, according to ABS national accounts data released today.
Academics, employers and unions have roundly criticised the ABS's decision not to review occupational classifications used to keep pace with new and emerging jobs in the digital era, warning it undermines their ability to plan for the workforce of the future.
