People

Australia's small business sector and union representatives have agreed on a four-point priority plan for the Jobs and Skills Summit, declaring a common interest in simplifying the IR system for workers and employers.

The suggestion that we return to an IR system that risks increasing the numbers of productive days lost due to strike action to address the flaws of the existing bargaining system is illogical, writes former COSBOA chair Mark McKenzie.

Forecasting the economy through to mid-2024, we put the occupations most likely to run into shortages or surpluses into four groups.

While the country's official unemployment figure is at a record low, both employers and workers are wrestling with a variety of problems.

Care work platform Mable will "simplify" opt-in superannuation deductions for gig workers as the government readies its own reform agenda.

Australia's peak body for small business groups will not immediately discount an Australian Council of Trade Unions proposal to introduce sector-wide enterprise bargaining.

Following communication breakdowns, the Australian Services Union and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association are taking their bargaining stoush with Apple to the Fair Work Commission.

"The upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit looks like it’s from the 1990s when small business was never a consideration," writes Peter Strong.

The five broad themes of the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit have been laid out by the Treasury, giving industry groups, unions, and lawmakers a concrete understanding of the key issues under debate.

Australian households are suffering under the sharpest decline in purchasing power on record as “sluggish” wages growth continues to lag behind skyrocketing prices for everyday essentials.

New data has outlined how the labour shortage and cost pressures are impacting employers nationwide.

With barely a fortnight until the Jobs and Skills Summit, immigration, innovation, and industrial relations have become major agenda items.