Industrial Relations Bill Likely To Pass This Week After Compromise

The federal government has compromised with the senate crossbench to gets its industrial relations changes through the upper house, which is likely to occur this week, according to The Australian. The impact of the bill on wages and the labour market will be watched closely by the RBA and business associations.

• Businesses with 20 employees up from 15 will now be exempted from multi-employer bargaining and there will an annual review of welfare payments.
• The government and unions are saying the legislation will result in higher wages but others, including businesses, say that it is not a given.
• Despite the amendments, businesses are still concerned that the changes will result in more industrial action and job cuts.
• The legislation will be reviewed after 2 years rather than the originally proposed 3 years.
• For businesses with less than 50 employees, unions have to prove “common interest” to push firms into multi-employer bargaining. For over 50 employees, employers have the responsibility.
• Single-enterprise agreements can now be negotiated for 9 months rather than 6 months before a firm has to be involved in multi-employer bargaining.
• To get the Greens support in the senate, the government agreed to the right to unpaid parental leave and that no one would be worse off under the changes.
• The right to veto an agreement has been removed.
  - The Australian