The Minns Labor Government's first State Budget establishes a $3.6 billion Essential Services Fund to support future wage rises for public sector workers.
The PC has confirmed its provisional view against augmenting unpaid carer's leave and says the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs changes will "make it easier for carers to negotiate flexible work, perhaps obviating the need for extended unpaid carer leave".
Adelaide University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart says he expects the Closing Loopholes Bill to be substantially amended before it is passed into law, to narrow some provisions and add others, giving employers time to "start thinking about the implications" and prepare for "big and important changes".
IR academic Chris F Wright has urged the Senate inquiry into the Closing Loopholes Bill to "recommend support" for the legislation, which he says is needed to update a regulatory framework that has "not adapted to fundamental changes in the labour market".
Legal limits on the scope of bargaining mean that safety laws might provide a better avenue to address workplace climate change impacts than using enterprise agreements, according to an IR law academic.
A union involved in more than 20% of the FWC's s448A compulsory conciliation conferences since they started in June says they come with a significant "risk versus reward overlay" that threatens to derail protected action and an "urgent fix" is required.
The FWC's national practice leader for bargaining says "almost all" members are issuing directions in addition to attendance orders ahead of compulsory post-PABO conciliations and appear to be regularly making recommendations during the conferences.
A court has ordered a worker to pay indemnity costs for her former employer's defence of a general protections claim, after she ignored legal advice and refused six settlement offers reaching up to $40,000, because she considered them "hush money".
The FWC has initiated a review of modern awards to update job security provisions, address work & care issues, and consider coverage of the arts and culture sector, after a request from Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke.
