A backlog of people waiting for partner visas could help fill workforce shortages if allowed,government MPs say,while the ACTU secretary says there’s a chance of an agreement with industry on migration.
The Albanese government is examining the union movement’s proposal for industry-wide bargaining as a tool to help close the gender pay gap.
The Business Council and ACTU have signalled they’re prepared to give ground at the jobs summit,while coming together with other key industry groups in a rare joint statement.
Employer groups say the union push to expand collective bargaining will lead to widespread strikes,but the workplace minister thinks it could suit some industries.
The ACTU chief wants unions to negotiate wage deals across entire sectors such as aged care and childcare,dramatically extending the current workplace regime.
Only 20 per cent of voters polled by Resolve Strategic say migration is one of the main priorities,but two-thirds expect a cut in their real incomes this year.
Economists,unions,the welfare sector and the Greens are urging the government to axe the tax cuts,which would provide major income tax relief to high-income earners.
The federal government is pinning its hopes on major economic reforms out of its jobs and skills summit. But workers are looking for real wages growth.
Sally McManus,the peak union body’s secretary,says raising living standards “will require more than fiddling around the edges”.
Are you getting more than a 3 per cent pay rise this year? Most workers’ real incomes are still going backwards.
HSU’s Gerard Hayes has broken with the ACTU’s Sally McManus on the campaign to enshrine working from home in enterprise bargaining agreements.