The Coalition has largely succeeded in neutralising IR as a 2013 federal election issue by promising to retain – at least for one term – Labor's Fair Work framework, but Australia's two major parties are still going to the September 7 poll with some significant policy differences, including on paid parental leave, right of entry, and construction industry regulation. Workplace Express compares their IR policies and those of the Greens, whose future hold on the Senate balance of power is uncertain.
Wage growth in private sector agreements lodged in the June quarter has dropped to 3.5% a year, well below the post-GFC average of about 3.9%, according to new data released by DEEWR today.
The NTEU is hailing an agreement with Swinburne University for new domestic violence protections that include options for employees to alter working arrangements and work locations, and hopes they will become a standard across the higher education industry.
The AMWU and the Victorian labour hire group have reached an in-principle agreement that will deliver several thousand workers a 9% pay rise over two years and introduce a casual conversion clause. Deals in Victorian manufacturing, meanwhile, are being settled for between 3.5% and 4% a year.
Almost 700 Reserve Bank employees have won annual average pay rises of 3.83% a year with the potential for more from a 2% annual bonus pool and a "career increment" pool that has been set at about 1% for the first year, under a new agreement with the FSU.
