A new report from a major employment law firm predicts that the Senate will pass the Abbott Government's Fair Work Act and building industry amendments, suggests the next reforms will be limits on industrial action and productivity requirements for enterprise agreements, and highlights the lower than expected activity in the FWC's anti-bullying jurisdiction.
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has moved quickly to douse suggestions from a junior minister that the federal government is looking to reform penalty rates, issuing a short statement this afternoon that any claims that it is planning to alter the way they are determined are "false".
The Abbott Government has sought to allay fears over a proposed Australian-first pilot program for Darwin employers to sponsor overseas workers, arguing it will be capped at 500 positions.
In a new report, the Business Council of Australia has turned its sights on penalty rates, the permitted content of enterprise agreements and unwanted third party intervention in employment relationships, at the same time advocating that the safety net of pay and conditions be "strongly enforced".
The ruling UK Conservative Party will lift the attendance threshold for strike ballots, impose a three month limit on industrial action and clamp down on picketing if it wins next year's election, while Britain's peak union body has called on the government to introduce online voting.
The Productivity Commission in a new report has repeated its call for governments to adopt Victorian-style procurement guidelines to regulate substandard IR conduct in the construction industry, but has warned they might need to be modified to avoid a clash with the Fair Work Act.
The Abbott Government has given the WA Government and third parties the power to apply to the Fair Work Commission to suspend or terminate industrial action that is threatening the economy or endangering health and safety.
The Senate's Education and Employment Legislation Committee has recommended today that the upper house pass the government's Fair Work Amendment Bill unamended, with the ALP and the Greens tabling separate reports opposing the legislation.
Former Prime Minister John Howard says that of the five big economic reforms Australian governments has implemented over the last 30 years, industrial relations is the only one that has gone backwards.
