As the Albanese Government pushes for the passage of its Closing Loopholes legislation that provides new protections for "employee-like" workers, the ABS has revealed its first "experimental estimates" indicating that digital platform workers account for 1% of the working population and most commonly perform food delivery and personal transport tasks.
JobKeeper kept people in work and prevented widespread business failures during the coronavirus pandemic, but in future crises the Government should consider improvements, including a tiered wage subsidy, according to Treasury's evaluation of the landmark scheme.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has committed to make significant changes in the way the Closing Loopholes Bill treats casual work, according to the Australian Hotels Association.
A leading IR academic kicking off a Senate inquiry's hearings into the Albanese Government's Closing Loopholes legislation has recommended passage of changes for "employee-like" gig workers and owner drivers, along with some "improvements".
Federal Parliament has passed a trio of bills that establish the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service as an independent statutory HR agency and overhaul employment arrangements for parliamentary staff.
The Albanese Government has ratified ILO conventions setting a minimum working age and seeking to prevent workplace harassment and violence, with Skills and Training Minister Brendan O'Connor telling this year's international labour conference that tripartism "has never been so important".
Employers who pressure migrant workers into breaching their temporary visa conditions face criminal charges and increased fines under changes soon to be introduced by the Albanese Government.
