The FWC no longer plans to deal with workers' right to disconnect during consultations in the work and care arm of its modern awards review, while it has tweaked its timetable and is inviting input by tomorrow afternoon on a survey that includes questions about working from home.
The ACTU is calling for a boost to casuals' loading, leave entitlements and roster stability, plus the scrapping of individual flexibility agreements, in a submission to the FWC's job security modern awards review, while the ASU and FAAA are seeking an overhaul of airline cabin crew and ground staff awards.
The FWC has delayed the start of consultations on the job security element of its modern awards review until February 27 and has made it clear that any broader issues regarding the construction of the Secure Jobs amendments is a separate full bench matter.
The FWC is seeking feedback by March 12 on the possible incorporation into modern awards of key recommendations of the recent Senate work and care inquiry, including rights to work from home and to disconnect from the workplace.
The FWC has published a digital database of the 2008-09 award modernisation process, comprising thousands of searchable documents making up what then Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard described as a "historic reform" of Australia's awards system.
FWC President Adam Hatcher has given the BCA another fortnight to make a compliant submission to the awards review after it filed a proposal "directly contrary" to the scope of the project.
Awards do not adequately cover visual artists and the "preferable solution" is for the FWC to create a new award, the ACTU says in its submission to the modern awards review, while also recommending the Government extend the Closing Loopholes Bill's "employee-like" definition to non-digital platform workers.
The FWC has today launched the next stage of its gender pay equity research, in which it will examine a dozen awards covering highly-feminised sectors to uncover indicators of gender-based undervaluation of minimum rates, ahead of the 2023-24 annual wage review.
University research commissioned by the FWC has identified 29 "large, highly feminised" and probably undervalued occupations covered by 13 modern awards that it might spotlight in the current annual wage review, in response to the Secure Jobs' imperative to address unequal remuneration and gender undervaluation in minimum rates of pay.