RBA Governor Philip Lowe today used a House committee public hearing to restate his view that Australia's recent record of negligable wage growth may be nearing an end, suggesting that an improving local outlook amid a rebounding global economy would see increased pressure on employers to share the proceeds.
The rapid rise of the "gig" economy has "normalised" sham contracting and exploitation of young workers, according to a submission to a Senate inquiry into corporate avoidance of the Fair Work Act.
Some 10% of unpaid work experience appears to be unlawful, with more than half a million Australians falling victim to it in the past five years, according to new university analysis presented at an IR academics conference in Canberra today.
More than 27% of public administration, defence, community services and utility workers belong to a union compared with less than 10% in mining and construction, while those of retirement age are significantly more likely to be members than those under 25, according to new research.
Private sector enterprise agreements approved in the September quarter paid an average wage rise of 3.4% a year, after construction deals providing substantial annual increases helped to lifted bargained wage deals out of the doldrums, new Department of Employment data reveals.
A reduction in size and frequency of pay rises explains the recent historically-low growth in wage rates, according to new RBA research conducted in collaboration with the ABS.
Unions have today called for a national plan to manage the shift to more ecologically-sustainable power generation, via measures that include an industry-wide multi-employer pooling and redeployment scheme.
Victoria's Andrews Government has today committed to introducing a labour hire licensing scheme, after the Forsyth inquiry recommended such a regime for labour suppliers to the horticulture, meat and cleaning industries.