22 Mar 2021 | Media Release
The passage of the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 today is a responsible outcome, ensuring casual employment remains a viable option for business, and employees have clear pathways to permanent work.
By passing the casual changes contained in Schedule 1 and 7, The Federal Parliament has voted in favour of jobs by restoring clarity to casual employment (damaged by poor drafting over a decade ago).
Casual employees across the country who work regular and systematic hours now have the right to request to convert to permanent part time employment after 12 months.
Employers no longer have to be worried they could be forced to pay people twice from double dipping claims, calling an end to $39billion in potential liabilities hanging over their heads.
Without these changes passing the Parliament today, we could have easily seen thousands of jobs lost and businesses bust.
The Parliament must now commit to revisiting the remainder of the IR Omnibus Bill.
Our enterprise bargaining system is on life support – limiting productivity improvements, suppressing wages, and making jobs less secure. If action is not taken, enterprise bargaining risks becoming extinct.
Awards are clearly too complex and ambiguous – they fail to support small business people or those who work for them. Part-time workers, the majority of whom are women, will continue to be locked out of additional incomes when they need it most.
Greenfields agreements need to be revisited if we are drive investment in Australia and create more jobs.
There is clearly unfinished business if Australia is to have an industrial relations system that works for everyone.
This statement is released by:
Media contacts:
Marie Hogg, ACCI: 0431 299 518
Jessica Yu, ARA: 0414 467 176
Malcolm Cole, NRA: 0408 612 603
Tom Green, R&CA: 0448 781 213.
30/06/2022
Persistent labour and skills shortages continue to plague Australian businesses, with job vacancies reaching a record 480,000 positions in May. According to job vacancies data,...
27/06/2022
Giving pensioners the choice to return to the workforce would be a boost for Australian businesses struggling to find staff. Australia’s largest and most representative...
21/06/2022
Manufacturers are benefitting from a strengthening of demand in the Australian economy, but are facing supply headwinds and escalating costs that are the most challenging...
17/06/2022
The meeting of National Cabinet in Canberra today signals a renewed and bipartisan impetus from Australia’s leaders to overcome chronic workforce shortages, languishing productivity growth...
15/06/2022
The Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase minimum wages by 5.2 per cent and award wages by 4.6 per cent will hit those industries which...
7/06/2022
The Reserve Bank’s decision to hike the cash rate for a second time in two months by 50 basis points from 0.35 to 0.85 per...
7/06/2022
Australia’s largest and most representative voice for business, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is urging consumers to support local goods this Australian Made...
31/05/2022
The Albanese Government’s ministry reflects a strong mix of experience and fresh talent for the Australian business community. “ACCI welcomes the new federal ministry and...
30/05/2022
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has congratulated Peter Dutton on his election as Liberal leader, and David Littleproud as Nationals leader. The...
26/05/2022
Australia must reach consensus on a plan for affordable and reliable power generation that balances domestic energy security and facilitates emissions reduction. Released today, the...
22/05/2022
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the nation’s largest and most representative business network, congratulates Anthony Albanese and his team on the election of...
11/05/2022
In its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review, the nation’s peak business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has backed...
3/05/2022
The Reserve Bank’s decision to lift the cash rate to 0.35 per cent reflects the interrelated challenges of rising inflation, supply chain bottlenecks, and acute...
29/04/2022
The Australian Chamber – Tourism is urging both parties to commit to measures that will assist in the recovery, and capitalise on the potential, of...
20/04/2022
The further easing of close contact isolation rules for household contacts in NSW and Victoria will ease the crippling workforce shortages that are hampering business...
19/04/2022
A commitment from a re-elected Coalition government to extend new greenfields agreements to six years is an important step towards genuine and structural workplace reform...
13/04/2022
Australia’s largest and most representative voice for business, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, today launched its campaign Back Australian Business, coinciding with the federal...
11/04/2022
The union movement’s rehashed casualisation scare campaign puts Australian small businesses and jobs at risk. “This election, Australians deserve better than the ACTU’s false claims...
2/04/2022
Australian businesses are set to reap the rewards of strengthened ties with India following the Phase One Agreement of the Australia-India Economic Commercial and Trade...
29/03/2022
Tonight’s budget will continue to rebuild Australia’s tourism industry; notwithstanding continued labour pressures are hampering the sector’s recovery. “The Government’s commitment to tourism has been...