Australia Institute
New research by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work shows the Federal Government’s omnibus industrial relations bill will lead to a significant increase in employer-designed enterprise agreements (EA) that reduce workers’ pay and conditions, rather than improve them-signaling a return to the WorkChoices pattern of EA-making and putting further downward pressure on Australia’s already record-low wages growth.
The bill proposes sweeping changes to labour laws which would see an acceleration of EAs written unilaterally by employers, without negotiation with a union. EAs will be exempt from the current Better Off Overall Test, subject to less scrutiny at the Fair Work Commission, and employers will have less stringent tests to ensure their proposed EAs are genuinely approved by their affected workers.
Economists say only thing to be sure of is that things wonât be the same
Save
Normal text size
Advertisement
When Victoriaâs âremarkableâ economic recovery from the depredations of COVID-19 hit the headlines this month, many in the state must have wondered how it went from basket case to poster-child in just a few months.
Deloitte Access Economics tipped the stateâs economy to grow by a remarkable 5.3 per cent this year â coming off the contraction of 2020 â outpacing NSW and even Queensland while the NAB predicted Victoriaâs economy would be back in pre-pandemic shape by as early as next year.
Superannuation cannot rise without stalling wage growth, RBA documents reveal
Posted
MonMonday 18
Superannuation will rise to 10 per cent on July 1.
(
Print text only
Cancel
Australia s superannuation rate is legislated to rise but it could cost workers an increase in wages.
Key points:
Superannuation is legislated to increase to 10 per cent on July 1
FOI documents from inside the Reserve Bank of Australia show it believes a rise in superannuation will cost wages
The view is based on the work of one think tank, the Grattan Institute
Confidential documents show the central bank s position on this contentious economic question is clear; the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) believes up to $8 of every $10 of future wage rises could be wiped out as the superannuation rate lifts half a per cent each year before reaching 12 per cent by 2025.
Nevetheless, the office is still a thing. While four out of 10 of us might have worked from home during lockdown last April, 83 per cent of us had returned to working outside the home by Level 1, according to Statistics NZ. The fact is, most of us still need that contact with other people. Which is why even though a rising number of firms are dismantling or shrinking their central city offices, they are encouraging people to come in intermittently or renting out shared spaces.
Supplied
Rising demand for co-working space is behind Generator’s plan to open two new shared space sites in Wellington this year, one in the old Dunbar Sloane property on Waring Taylor St, and the second at Bowen Campus (above).