Lawyers have told the Productivity Commission that its proposals to end tenure for new FWC appointees and to subject members to performance reviews would undermine the umpire's independence, while raising concern about a suggestion that only non-lawyers should determine matters in the proposed minimum standards division.
At the National Reform Summit in Canberra today, the ACTU will urge the Turnbull Government to adopt measures to boost multifactor and capital productivity, arguing that labour productivity has been growing and "is not the problem".
The Victorian Government has criticised the Productivity Commission's proposal to create a "two-tiered" penalty rate system, saying it is at odds with its overall view that there is no need for wholesale change to the Fair Work Act.
A full shutdown of BlueScope Steel's operation in Port Kembla would double the local unemployment rate to above 15% and deliver a $3.3 billion economic hit, according to a study commissioned by the AWU.
Hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses in the private sector are increasing at a record low of 2.2% a year in trend terms, according to the ABS Wage Price Index, released today.
The employer push for lower penalty rates in the Fair Work Commission includes expert evidence that most weekend workers have no problem or only minor problems with performing their duties on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Productivity Commission has called for the FWC in its four-yearly review of awards to align Sunday penalty rates in hospitality, entertainment, restaurants and cafes with those payable on Saturdays.
Workers on the Gorgon LNG project will begin voting on Wednesday on whether to take industrial action to push head contractor CB&I to offer shorter roster cycles, at the same time as parliamentary inquiries in WA and Queensland have weighed-up whether new regulations are needed for non-residential workforces.
Wage growth in private sector federal agreements approved by the FWC in the March quarter dropped to the lowest level since 1991, according to the Department of Employment.
Delaying access to superannuation by two years is likely to boost mature age workforce participation by two percentage points, says a new Productivity Commission report.
