Average wage increases in private sector agreements approved in the September quarter have reached 3% a year for the first time since 2016, according to Jobs Department data released today.
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.
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.
