Labor has a clear agenda regarding workplace relations, which is set to be a key topic of conversation over the next term of government, Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said at our post-election IR update webinar on Monday.
“When it comes to workplace relations, Mr Albanese has made it clear the agenda is based around three things: increasing wages, increasing profits and increasing productivity,” Mr Willox said.
“Productivity involves workplace relations, but it also involves areas like skills, education, training, infrastructure, tax reform and skilled migration.”
The focus on productivity is expected to be a key theme of Labor’s proposed Employment Summit between unions, employer representatives and the Government.
The Summit, likely to be held in September, was originally cast to be around jobs and jobs creation but is now turning into a conversation about boosting productivity in the workplace, given that unemployment is at 3.9% and expected to trend into the low 3s before this year is out, Mr Willox said.
The first big test for the Government relates to its submission to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) around the upcoming minimum wage decision, which will be revealed before July 1.
Prior to the election, Labor called for the minimum wage to be lifted by 5.1% but ultimately will not recommend a specific figure in its FWC submission.
Much of what the Labor Party has put forward regarding IR relates to:
There will be a lot of consultation with the Government around the objectives that Labor has set, Mr Willox said.
“We expect it will be genuine consultation,” Mr Willox added.
“Ai Group will be working hard to protect business interests and will consult with members as we go through this consultation process with the Government.”
In its Pre-election Policy Announcements, Labor said it would amend the objects of the Fair Work Act to include improved job security and improved gender pay equity.
There is some confusion over Labor’s stance on this, said Stephen Smith, Ai Group’s Head of National Workplace Relations Policy and Legal Practitioner Director, Ai Group Workplace Lawyers.
“Labor has said it intends to amend the definition of a ‘casual employee’ that was included in section 15A of the Fair Work Act last year and that it plans to ‘restore the common law definition’ of casual employment,” Mr Smith said.
“The problem with that as a policy proposition is that the ‘common law definition’ of a casual is what the High Court said it was in the WorkPac v Rossato case last year and that aligns with the definition in section 15A.
“It’s not clear what Labor is planning to do with the definition, but they are continuing to say they don’t like the current definition because it enables ongoing regular casual arrangements.”
To provide context, the level of casual employment in Australia has been around 20% of the workforce for the past 24 years. It fell significantly at the start of the pandemic and has not yet fully returned to the previous level.
“There is no valid argument that casual employment has been increasing,” Mr Smith said.
Ai Group will be arguing strongly that the casual employment uncertainties that were comprehensively addressed by the legislative and award changes last year must not be disturbed.
“This a huge issue for platform businesses,” Mr Smith said.
“Labor intends to give the FWC the power to regulate what it calls ‘employee-like’ forms of work to enable the Commission to set minimum standards for contractor gig workers.”
Gig workers make up less than 1% of the 13 million-strong workforce and are a subset of the 7.8% of the workforce’s independent contractors.
“The scope of this new power to be given to the Commission is going to be extremely important,” Mr Smith said.
“How will a ‘gig worker’ be defined? For example, if they are delivering things, is it going to be defined as someone who is delivering a meal on a bicycle or a motorbike or will it include a car? A van? A light truck?
“Where the definition starts and finishes is going to be hugely important. Of course, it is important for the platform businesses and their customers, but it’s potentially important for a very large part of the business community who would be affected if the definition of an independent contractor is disturbed.”
The debate is often framed around labour hire but, in fact, its effect could potentially be wider.
“There is a huge issue about what the definition of labour hire will be and how much that will disturb genuine contracting arrangements between one business and another,” Mr Smith said.
“There’s also the issue of: is it pay that has to be matched? Or conditions? Is it base pay or total pay? If it’s total pay, that will bring in all sorts of issues around penalty rates.”
These include:
These include:
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Wendy Larter is Communications Manager at the Australian Industry Group. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a reporter, features writer, contributor and sub-editor for newspapers and magazines including The Courier-Mail in Brisbane and Metro, the News of the World, The Times and Elle in the UK.
