Treasurer Scott Morrison has declined to support Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe's call for workers to push for wage rises, arguing that improved company profits are a surer way to put more money in more pockets.
Senator Nick Xenophon has won support for a Senate inquiry that will investigate enterprise agreements by big corporations that trade off penalty rates.
Maverick Federal Nationals MP George Christensen has this morning made good on his vow to introduce a private members' bill to stop Sunday penalty rates from being cut in 11 days' time.
The CFMEU will stage a national day of protest next week as tensions rise in the construction industry over the coming deadline for having code-compliant agreements to avoid being barred from winning Commonwealth-funded contracts.
The Australian Federal Police has hit back at claims its officers stand to lose up to 23% of their salary under a proposed agreement which the police union claims will leave all members worse off.
The WA Industrial Relations Commission has increased the state minimum wage by 2.3%, noting that the economy is still in a "trough" after the end of the mining and construction boom in recent years.
Queensland employers facing millions of dollars in backpay claims are calling on the Federal Court to quash an FWC full bench decision that apprentices' pay should be measured against the more generous federal award rather than the state award when conducting the BOOT.
A Senate Committee's call for a target date for full gender pay equity has been seized upon by the union pursuing a four-year long equal-remuneration case before the FWC, but found little support from business or Government members on the Labor-dominated committee.
Expanding on its theme that the wages system is "broken", the ACTU will seek to change workplace laws so workers and unions can bargain "where the power is" across industries and franchised employers, rather than being limited to the enterprise level.
