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  • Centre For Future Work to evolve into standalone entity

    The Centre for Future Work was established by the Australia Institute in 2016 to conduct and publish progressive economic research on work, employment, and labour markets.

    Supported by the Australian Union movement, the centre produced cutting edge research and led the national conversation on economic issues facing working people: including the future of jobs, wages and income distribution, skills and training, sector and industry policies, globalisation, the role of government, public services, and more.

    The Centre will now evolve to a stand-alone centre sitting outside of the Australia Institute.

    “The Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work have been such an important and powerful partnership in advocating for and winning ideas that make the world of work better. We look forward to what this next chapter can bring,” said Michele O’Neil, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

    “We are thrilled to have been able to seed this important initiative and build it to where it is able to stand alone. The Australia Institute will continue to work with the Centre for Future Work to amplify good policy solutions for workplace issues,” said Leanne Minshull, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.

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  • Increasing minimum wage would not drive inflation up: new report

    The analysis, The Irrelevance of Minimum Wages to Future Inflation, examines the correlation between minimum wage increases and inflation going back to 1997.

    It finds that, contrary to employer concerns, there is no consistent link between minimum wage increases and inflation in the modern Australian context.

    The report finds that a minimum wage rise of between five and 10 per cent in the Fair Work’s Annual Wage Review, due in June, is needed to restore the real buying power of low-paid workers to pre-pandemic trends, but would not significantly affect headline inflation.

    Key points:

    • Last year’s decision, which lifted the minimum wage by 8.65 per cent and other award wages by 5.75 per cent, offset some but not all of the effects of recent inflation on real earnings for low-wage workers.
    • At the same time, inflation fell by 3 full percentage points.
    • There has been no significant correlation between rises in the minimum wage and inflation since 1997.
    • Raising wages by 5 to 10 per cent this year would offset recent inflation and restore the pre-pandemic trend in real wages for award-covered workers.
    • Even if fully passed on by employers, higher award wages would have no significant impact on economy-wide prices.
    • A 10 per cent increase in award wages could be fully offset, with no impact on prices at all, by just a 2 per cent reduction in corporate profits – still leaving profits far above historical levels.

    “Australia’s lowest paid workers have been hardest hit by inflation since Covid. There is a moral imperative to restore quality of life for these Australians and this analysis shows that there is no credible economic reason to deny them,” Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work Chief Economist Greg Jericho said.

    “It’s vital the Fair Work Commission ensure that the minimum wage not only keeps up with inflation, but also grows gradually in real terms – as was the trend before the pandemic.

    “Whenever wages go up, the business lobby cries wolf, claiming it will cost people their jobs, shutter businesses and stifle competition.

    “The business lobby always has some reason that wages should be suppressed. But the historical data prove that concerns about inflation are not a credible excuse to deny low-paid workers a much-needed pay rise.

    “Even if businesses respond to minimum wage rises by charging consumers more, it would have a minuscule effect on inflation because it would be subsumed by much larger factors including chain disruptions, energy shocks, and corporate profits.”

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  • Aged care reforms fall short on quality, safety

    The Centre for Future Work warns that reforms due to come into effect from July – including screening requirements to exclude unsuitable workers and a mandatory code of conduct – do not go far enough to ensure the quality and safety or recognise workers’ skills.

    Key findings:

    • The report, Professionalising the Aged Care Workforce, calls for the mandated, sector-wide professional registration and minimum aged care worker qualifications that require all workers to have at least a Certificate III
    • Costs would be minimal because two out of three personal care workers already have a Certificate III or higher qualification
    • Mandating minimum training requirements would lead to higher quality and safer care as well as better career paths for workers to help meet the growing and complex needs of an ageing Australia
    • Two of every three personal care workers already hold a Certificate III or higher qualification
    • Minimum aged care worker qualifications to Certificate III level and access to ongoing professional development were key recommendations of the 2021 Aged Care Royal Commission

    “This is about long-term sustainability for the aged care workforce,” said Dr Fiona Macdonald, Policy Director, The Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute.

    “Setting a minimum education standard for all aged care workers would lead to higher quality care. It would also allow for the recognition of the skills required to care for society’s most vulnerable.

    “Four out of five aged care workers are women and care work has long been undervalued and low paid. Fixing this is vital for people receiving care, workers and our communities.

    “Workers are facing new demands to comply with screening and obligations to meet standards under a new code of conduct. Yet, there is still no formal recognition of workers’ skills or system-wide requirements for accredited training.

    “While the government is moving to screen out unsuitable aged care workers, it is failing to give those working in or considering aged care meaningful professional development or options for career progression.

    “Mandatory and coordinated accreditation would allow workers to have their skills recognised, boost job satisfaction and make the industry more attractive as a long-term career.

    “The Aged Care Royal Commission has been crystal clear about the need for these reforms. It’s beyond time to deliver them.”

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  • Right to Disconnect Essential as Devices Intrude Into Workers Lives

    Australia’s Parliament is set to pass a new set of reforms to the Fair Work Act and other labour laws, that would enshrine certain protections for workers against being contacted or ordered to perform work outside of normal working hours. This “Right to Disconnect” is an important step in limiting the steady encroachment of work demands into leisure, family, and recreation time. In the most recent edition of our Centre’s annual Go Home on Time Day survey, the average Australian worker performed 280 hours of unpaid time per year — and that time is worth a staggering $130 billion in annual lost incomes. The ubiquitous use of digital devices (from email to texts to WhatsApp) is facilitating this expansion of time theft.

    Dr Chris F. Wright is Associate Professor in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney, and also a member of the Centre for Future Work’s Advisory Committee. He has prepared this excellent summary (originally published in The Conversation) about the benefits of a right to disconnect. Please also see our 2022 report, Call Me Maybe (Not!), by Eliza Littleton and Lily Raynes, on examples of enshrining the right from other countries, and survey evidence showing Australians’ strong support for the idea.

    Smartphones Mean We’re Always Available to our Bosses. ‘Right to Disconnect’ Laws are a Necessary Fix

    by Dr Chris F. Wright

    Australian workers are set to have the right to disconnect from their workplaces once they clock off for the day.

    This will “empower workers to ignore work calls and emails after hours [from their employers], where those demands are unreasonable”, according to Greens Senator Barbara Pocock who has been driving the change.

    Last week, the Senate committee reviewing the “Closing Loopholes” amendments to the Fair Work Act recommended introducing a right to disconnect to support “the development of clear expectations about contact and availability in workplaces”. On Wednesday, the Albanese government indicated it supported the amendment.

    Why a right to disconnect is needed

    Last year, the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care drew attention to “availability creep” where employees are increasingly expected to complete work outside of work hours.

    Smartphones have made it easier for managers to contact workers any time. The shift to remote working during the COVID pandemic caused the boundaries between work and personal life to disintegrate further.

    According to a 2022 report by the Centre for Future Work, 71% of workers surveyed had worked outside their scheduled work hours often due to overwork or pressure from managers.

    This led to increased tiredness, stress or anxiety for about one-third of workers surveyed, disrupted relationships and personal lives for more than one-quarter, and lower job motivation and satisfaction for around one-fifth.

    Parliamentary inquiries have highlighted the negative consequences of working outside scheduled hours for mental and physical health, productivity and turnover.

    Availability creep has led to significant unpaid overtime which “takes workers away from a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay”.

    The impacts are especially acute for certain groups of workers. Those on insecure contracts lack the power to resist availability creep. Those with unpaid care responsibilities are likely to experience intensified work/life balance.

    “Roster justice”

    The right to disconnect provides a solution to these challenges. The Senate select committee on work and care found such a right can provide workers with “roster justice” by giving more certainty over their working hours.

    Many countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America have already established laws or regulations limiting employers contacting workers outside work hours.

    At least 56 enterprise agreements currently operating in Australia provide a right to disconnect. This includes agreements covering teachers, police officers and various banks and financial institutions.

    Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated the right to disconnect legislation will provide employers with “reasonable grounds” to contact their employees outside work hours. This might include calling employees to see if they can fill a shift.

    If enterprise agreements with existing right to disconnect clauses are an indication, the Fair Work Commission will probably be asked to determine what contact outside of work hours is deemed “reasonable”. This approach seems sensible given the long tradition of the commission being asked to rule on what’s “reasonable” in other areas of employment law.

    If an employer “unreasonably” expects employees to perform unpaid work outside of normal hours the commission may be empowered to impose a “stop order” — and potentially fines — to prevent the employer from contacting employees outside hours according to Tony Burke.

    Unions including those representing teachers and police officers support a right to disconnect. According to the Police Federation of Australia:

    Not only do the police see that trauma, deal with the families’ trauma, deal with their colleagues’ trauma, have to investigate, have to go to court, and get media attention but they also have to go home and deal with their families […] The right to disconnect gives those officers that little bit of breathing space.

    Employment law experts and human resource specialists also believe there is a strong case for such a right given the negative impacts of availability creep on worker well being.

    Employer associations are less supportive. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) told a recent Senate inquiry a right to disconnect would be “a blunt instrument which will do more harm than good, including for employees”. They claim employers will be less accommodating of employee requests for flexible work arrangements during normal work hours if contact outside these hours is no longer allowed.

    A banana republic?

    According to ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar, a right to disconnect would be “the final step in Australia becoming a banana republic”.

    But it must be remembered that workers effectively had the right to disconnect before the smartphone. Such a protection needs to be explicit now technology has eroded the once-firm boundaries between work and home.

    As the nature of work and employer practices change, it’s essential for employment regulations to respond accordingly. Having a right to disconnect to protect workers from employers encroaching upon their free-time is a necessary response.

    The post “Right to Disconnect” Essential as Devices Intrude Into Workers’ Lives appeared first on The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work.

  • Fels Review Confirms Corporate Practices As Key Drivers of Inflation

    Key points:

    • The Australia Institute and its Centre for Future Work, which were among the first to identify the role of record-high corporate profits in driving the acceleration of inflation after the COVID lockdowns, made a major submission to the Fels inquiry and appeared before its public hearing in Melbourne in September 2023
    • A 2023 Centre for Future Work report showed that over two-thirds of excess economy-wide inflation (above the RBA’s 2.5% target) from end-2019 through the September quarter of 2022 was attributable to higher unit corporate profits.
    • Australia Institute reports documented that the rise in profits was strongest in industries with concentrated or strategic power in the broader economy: including mining and energy, manufacturing, construction and wholesale trade.

    “Prof Fels’ careful review confirms that price-setting strategies by corporations, including many obviously unfair and exploitative practices, have contributed significantly to the cost-of-living crisis afflicting Australian households,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist for the Australia Institute.

    “Since the current inflationary cycle began after COVID lockdowns, there has been too much attention on wages, labour costs, and consumer spending as the supposed drivers of higher prices. The RBA and other policy-makers have been too slow to acknowledge the role of profit and greed in pushing up prices.

    “This inquiry marshals abundant evidence from official statistical agencies, international economic organisations, think tanks and academic research to show that corporations have taken advantage of the pandemic and its aftermath to exploit consumers and drive up inflation.

    “Prof Fels’ report contributes to a more accurate understanding of what is causing the cost-of-living crisis, and a more balanced and fair strategy for solving it.”

    “Australian corporate profits have moderated in the last year, as supply chains were repaired and energy prices retreated. This has been crucial to the partial slowdown in inflation experienced in the same time.

    “But further reductions in prices for many essential goods and services are required to fully repair living standards, and Prof Fels’ recommendations for more exposure of excess prices and stronger competition measures to reduce them would help a lot.”

    The post Fels’ Review Confirms Corporate Practices As Key Drivers of Inflation appeared first on The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work.

  • New Report Reveals Changing Face and Future of Self-Employment

    The Centre for Future Work’s Carmichael Centre study shows that self-employment is both shrinking and becoming more precarious.

    Over the past decade, there were 112,000 fewer employers, 35,000 more part-time solo self-employed, and 91,000 fewer full-time solo self-employed than there would have been if their shares of total employment had remained unchanged.

    “Contrary to some predictions, self-employment has not taken over the world – but the nature of what self-employment means has changed,” said David Peetz, research fellow and author of Self Employment Myths & Realities.

    “Self-employment is in decline, not just in Australia but overseas.

    “The only thing that’s growing in the self-employment area is part-time, solo self-employment. A lot of that is ‘gig’ work. It’s insecure, the pay is poor, it’s sometimes even dangerous.

    “The nature of what self-employment means has changed. For someone wanting to be their own boss, it’s a lot harder these days to get a small business into markets. Big firms aren’t keen to let them in. They’re a lot happier to just hire a contractor to do short gigs for them.

    “There’s a lot of barriers to start-ups, but there’s no barriers to how many delivery drivers rely on three different apps to make ends meet.

    “This has left many self-employed workers exposed to poorly regulated or non-existent workplace standards.”

    The report shows standards and protections can be set for gig workers. This can be done in ways that these workers actually want, without getting in the way of the genuine innovators among the self-employed.

    “The second tranche of the government’s Closing Loopholes Bill puts a floor on gig work standards and is vital to protect livelihoods and the economy,” Professor Peetz said.

    “Workers want the flexibility that comes with self-employment, but they also want and deserve to be protected.

    “The protections in the government’s Closing Loopholes Bill, returning to parliament next year, strike the right balance between protecting the right to choose self-employment and stamping out exploitation of vulnerable workers.”

    The post New Report Reveals Changing Face and Future of Self-Employment appeared first on The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work.

  • Special Issue of Journal Marks Halfway Point of First Albanese Government

    The Journal of Australian Political Economy, a peer-reviewed journal based at the University of Sydney, has today published a special issue evaluating the record of the Albanese government during the first half of its term in office.

    The special issue features 19 articles reviewing various aspects of the government’s legislative and policy agenda since its election in May 2022. Topics covered include economic and monetary policy, labour issues, energy and climate, foreign policy (including the AUKUS treaty), and the Voice referendum.

    The special issue was edited by Professor Emeritus Frank Stilwell of the University of Sydney’s Department of Political Economy.

    All articles included are available open-access here.

    “The midpoint of the current federal Labor government’s term of office is a good time to take stock and assess its performance,” said Professor Stilwell.

    “The mixture of the government’s accomplishments, and its continuing policy and political challenges, show the tensions as well as the possibilities when the Labor party is at the helm of the ship of state.”

    “One topic that continues to bedevil the government is its plan to move ahead with Stage 3 tax cuts, despite criticisms that they will widen income inequality in Australia and add to inflationary pressures,” said David Richardson, Senior Researcher at the Australia Institute and co-author of the special issue’s review of tax policies.

    “The Stage 3 cuts are massively regressive, and the government should instead focus its tax reform efforts on developing a fairer system for taxing capital gains.

    “Since the ratio of wealth to income is predicted to double in the next 40 years, Australia urgently needs to ensure the owners of wealth make a fair contribution to the costs of a decent society,” Richardson concluded.

    “The government deserves positive grades for measures taken to strengthen collective bargaining and boost wage growth,” said Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work and a co-author of the special issue’s article on labour policy.

    “While more labour reforms are needed, the government has made significant strides toward a better balance between workers and employers, and revitalising long-stagnant wage growth,” Stanford added.

    Five of the articles in the special issue reflect contributions from staff and associates of the Australia Institute, including:

    • Labour Policy: co-authored by five staff members of the Institute’s Centre for Future Work.
    • Tax Policy: co-authored by Prof Stilwell and David Richardson, Senior Researcher at the Australia Institute.
    • Care Policy: authored by Dr Fiona Macdonald, Policy Director for the Centre for Future Work.
    • Energy Policy: co-authored by Dr Matthew Ryan, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Australia Institute, and Prof Stuart Rosewarne of the University of Sydney.
    • Monetary Policy: authored by Dr Mike Beggs of the University of Sydney, and Associate of the Centre for Future Work.

    The post Special Issue of Journal Marks Halfway Point of First Albanese Government appeared first on The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work.

  • Solidarity Research for Union Renewal

    • Tuesday 30 January 2024
    • 5:30pm for 6pm start
    • UnionsWA, CSA Building, 445 Hay Street Perth

    To coincide with the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) holding its 2024 conference in Perth, the Centre for Future Work and Unions WA are pleased to present a unique and important event for union members, supporters, and activists.

    ‘Solidarity research for Union Renewal’ brings together cutting-edge researchers and unionists to share their knowledge and wisdom about renewing unions and building solidarity between all workers. Find out how:

    • Canadian Health Workers restored their jobs to the public sector
    • African unions have fought back against Multinationals
    • Australian unions are organising and advocating for migrant workers

    The evening will be chaired by Professor Emeritus David Peetz, the Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Work – who will also be presenting his research on Developing Union Delegates

    This event is FREE, with refreshments, but we need you to register for a ticket here: https://www.unionswa.com.au/solidarity_research_for_union_renewal.

    And here is the full program of speakers and topics.

    See you in Perth!

    The post Solidarity Research for Union Renewal appeared first on The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work.

  • Employers Steal More than 280 Hours from Workers Each Year: Go Home on Time Day Report 2023

    That’s the finding of the Australia Institute’s 2023 report, Short Changed, tracking annual work hours and unpaid overtime for Go Home On Time Day on November 22. It has also found the average worker is losing out on $11,055 a year, or $425 a fortnight, to unpaid overtime.

    Key findings:

    The Australia Institute surveyed 1,640 people between August 29 and September 6. Of those, 61% were in paid work.

    • Employees reported doing an average of 5.4 hours of unpaid work a week overall
      • Full-time employees perform an average of 6.2 hours, and casuals or part-timers four hours
      • Workers aged 18 to 29 do the most unpaid overtime (7.4 hours) a week
    • This ‘time theft’ equates to 281 hours a year or seven standard 38-hour weeks spent working for free
    • Australian employees are losing a cumulative $131 billion to unpaid work a year
    • Nearly half (46%) are not satisfied with the amount of paid work they’re doing and either want more or fewer hours:
      • A third of all workers want more paid hours (35%), but this rises to 54% for under-30s
      • Half of casuals (49%) of two in five part-timers (40%) would like more paid hours
      • Another 11% of all workers would like fewer paid hours

    “This survey shows just how uneven the labour market is. We’ve got many workers, especially casuals in insecure jobs, wanting more hours. At the same time, employers are more likely to demand long hours, including large amounts of unpaid overtime, from full-time workers,” Dr Fiona Macdonald, Policy Director, Industrial and Social at the Centre for Future Work said.

    “Record-low unemployment should have pushed both satisfaction with working hours and paid hours higher as employers scrambled to fill labour shortages. Instead, ‘time theft’ has actually blown out by 57 hours per worker since 2022 and has returned to near pandemic-era levels.

    “This dispels simplistic arguments that workers have the upper hand on employers because of recent industrial relations reforms. In fact, we’ve seen workers agree to more hours due to the cost of living crunch. Perversely, this has resulted in employees giving their bosses a free kick because many of those hours end up being unpaid.

    “Providing more protections for workers in these insecure positions, as proposed in the Closing Loopholes legislation currently before parliament, is an important priority for improving Australian labour market outcomes.”

    Visit Go Home On Time Day 2023 to read more and use our online calculator to work out your unpaid overtime.

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  • Insecure work is a feature of our labour market. New laws can change that.

    Chris Wright is Associate Professor in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney, and a member of the Centre for Future Work’s Advisory Committee. This commentary is based on his submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023, and originally appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.

    * * * * *

    The Senate has started reviewing the Australian Government’s Closing Loopholes Bill. If passed, this legislation will allow minimum standards to be set for contract workers, provide stronger penalties against employers who commit wage theft and deter employers from outsourcing to circumvent enterprise bargaining.

    These measures will strengthen protections for workers who often face barriers to job security and career development.

    Australia’s current system of workplace laws was adopted at a time when enterprise bargaining and awards covered a larger share of the workforce than today. Enterprise bargaining and awards encourage employers to invest in their workers through “standard” employment arrangements underpinned by permanent contracts, decent wages and training.

    These arrangements promoting workforce investment benefit both workers and employers. Workers gain job and economic security and career progression opportunities. Employers gain loyal and satisfied workers who contribute to productivity and innovation. As the architects of the current system of workplace laws envisaged, workforce investment thus provides the basis for high-productivity business strategies, which help to make the Australian economy more internationally competitive.

    Recently, however, more businesses have opted for a different course. These businesses have tried to compete not through high-productivity strategies but instead by undercutting or evading workplace laws and by engaging workers via “non-standard” arrangements such as casual contracts or via gig economy platforms.

    The rising incidence of wage theft in which employers pay workers below their legal entitlements is evidence of this undercutting. The growing numbers of workers hired through labour hire arrangements, which some businesses have used to avoid their enterprise bargaining obligations, is evidence of evasion. So too is the emergence of gig platforms exempt from workplace laws.

    Wage theft, gig platforms and use of labour hire as an evasion tactic have become features of Australia’s modern labour market. None of these features existed when the foundations of the current system of workplace laws were first laid in the 1990s.

    As the nature of work and the labour market evolves, workplace laws must adapt in response. The Closing Loopholes Bill recognises this by allowing workers on casual contracts to convert more easily to permanent contracts, increasing protections for gig and labour hire workers and introducing new measures against employers who undercut wage laws.

    While non-standard workers have flexibility, they have little job and economic security under current laws. For instance, casual workers receive a higher hourly pay rate as compensation for this insecurity but are concentrated in the lowest-paid industries. Like their counterparts in the gig economy, casual workers are less likely to receive training than permanent workers.

    The proposed change to give casuals who work regular hours the right to convert to permanent employment will probably improve their access to good quality jobs and career development opportunities.

    Business groups have criticised the Closing Loopholes Bill for its supposedly negative impacts on productivity and innovation. They have not offered evidence supporting these claims. To the contrary, research evidence suggests that measures promoting standard employment are more likely to encourage businesses to compete through high-productivity and innovation-enhancing strategies rather than by undercutting or evading.

    Winston Churchill once said that without effective workplace laws, “the good employer is undercut by the bad and the bad by the worst… Where those conditions prevail you have not a condition of progress, but a condition of progressive degeneration”.

    Workers in Australia are increasingly missing out on legal protections under current laws. The research evidence suggests the Closing Loopholes Bill’s provisions are necessary to avoid a situation like the one Churchill described.

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