OPINION: The Albanese government wants wages to rise under new employment laws. So, why has it locked in out of date conditions?
Flexibility in the workplace allows businesses to adjust the way work is done in response to changes in markets, costs, skills, technology and social norms. And to do so to the extent and at the pace necessary to be productive and competitive.Workplace flexibility is always in Australia’s national interest: to our productivity and competitiveness, to our resilience to withstand economic shocks and, ultimately, to our living standards.
More specifically for Australia, there are evident and emerging market pressures on businesses, placing a premium on flexibility. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has foreshadowed competition policy reform; he wants to bring about more change in markets. And he should. Greater market competition is good for us all.
Businesses need flexibility in their internal labour markets to respond to rising costs in a way that is more productive than just raising prices.The pandemic has created severe skill shortages in Australia. There are various ways businesses can respond, including by changing the way work is done, broadening jobs to take in a wider array of tasks, altering the interactions between jobs, and easing the boundaries between jobs.
last year added to labour costs but did little to enhance managerial discretion to respond to those cost increases. Existing agreements accommodate the world as it was. The 2022 labour law reforms help preserve that past.The government shows no indication of understanding this. Instead, it is planning to make it even harder for businesses to manage. For example, making labour hire one pathway of response to the external world less attractive.
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