What will Labor's proposed changes to the Fair Work Act mean for Australians?

Professor Sara Charlesworth (0412 889122 or sara.charlesworth@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: industrial relations, low paid-insecure employment, care work, the gender pay gap    

“The COVID pandemic has revealed the growing job insecurity faced by many workers in Australia. While we have relied on them during the pandemic, workers in feminised sectors such as aged care and retail lost hours of work and income while also facing increased risks to their own health. During the recent federal election campaign, the ALP promised to address job insecurity through two main reforms to the Fair Work Act.

“Firstly, by making both job security and gender pay equity central objectives of the Fair Work Act, the Fair Work Commission will have to consider the impact on job security and gender pay equity in its decisions on minimum wage rises and award conditions. This will be particularly important for those employed in aged care, childcare and disability support and will provide an avenue to address the undervaluation of this crucial work and limit the increasing employer-orientated flexibility in many sector Awards by encouraging a shift to more predictable and fairly paid work.

“Secondly, the ALP has promised to extend minimum wages and employment protections in the Fair Work Act to those in ‘employee-like’ relationships, such as gig workers and many of the so-called ‘self-employed’. While it is still unclear exactly how ‘employee-like’ relationships will be determined, this reform holds real potential to provide better working conditions for many workers currently without employment rights and also to provide the continuity of staffing in sectors such as aged care, childcare and disability support that is crucial to good quality service provision.”   

Sara Charlesworth is Professor of Gender, Work & Regulation in the School of Management at RMIT University. Her research expertise includes insecure work in feminised sectors such as aged care and retail and gender equality.  

Distinguished Professor Anthony Forsyth: (0431 103 172 or anthony.forsyth@rmit.edu.au )

Topics: Industrial relations reform, insecure work, casuals, gig work, enterprise bargaining, strikes, Jobs Summit 

“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to hold a Jobs Summit in the first 100 days of Labor’s term in office. Business and union leaders will be asked to come up with policy solutions to lift real wages, boost enterprise bargaining and promote more secure forms of work. 

“Insecure work has been increasing in Australia for decades, including casualisation, labour hire, independent contractor arrangements and now the gig economy. Yet many workers want the security that only a permanent job can provide.

“Labor has pledged to make secure work an object of the Fair Work Act. It has also committed to improving the situation for gig workers, who are incorrectly labelled “contractors” by most platforms and therefore denied all employment rights.

“While Labor has said it will give the Fair Work Commission the power to set minimum employment standards for gig workers, other approaches including redefining “employment” to capture these workers also need to be considered. This will be more effective in disrupting the exploitative business model at the core of the gig economy.”

Anthony Forsyth is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Business & Law, RMIT. He has provided extensive commentary over many years to print and electronic media outlets across Australia and internationally. He is the author of the recent book: “The Future of Unions and Worker Representation: The Digital Picket Line”.

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