How to fix Australia’s broken childcare system so everybody wins
The potential social and economic benefits of early childhood education and care are huge.
September 2024
Chalmers is right, the RBA has smashed the economy
In recent weeks the Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been criticised by the opposition and some conservative economists for pointing out that the 13 interest rate increases have slowed Australia’s economy. But the data shows he is right.
August 2024
The 9 to 5 is back! Time to put the phone on silent
If you’ve ever flicked off an email before bed, texted your boss out of hours, or received an ‘urgent’ work call after clocking off, you’ll be glad to hear some respite is just around the corner. A new right to disconnect from work, for employees in businesses with 15 or more staff, comes into force
Closing Loopholes Protections, Including Right to Disconnect, Come Into Effect 26 August
New labour rights coming into effect on 26 August, including the ‘Right to Disconnect’.
July 2024
Would you like a recession with that? New Zealand shows the danger of high interest rates
New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates more than Australia and went into a recession – twice.
June 2024
Webinar: Stop passing the buck -Workers’ compensation and ‘gig’ workers
Workers’ compensation and rehabilitation are amongst the most important legal issues facing the ‘gig’ economy. This reflects the potential vulnerability of these workers and their families, co-workers, and community to harsh and long term consequences from injuries. For a while, it looked like federal industrial policy might ‘solve’ the workers compensation problem by redefining ‘gig’/platform
“I studied economics to better understand the world and equip me with better tools to serve society”
Prof Anis Chowdhury, an Associate of the Centre for Future Work, was recently appointed Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, in honour of his decades of influential work in progressive macroeconomics and development economics. Prof Chowdhury’s address on occasion of his installment provides an overview of his evolution as a progressive economist and significant impact on global policy:
No need for panic over ‘sticky’ inflation: Jericho
Inflation has stopped falling, but there’s no need for a further rate hike, says Greg Jericho.
May 2024
Does leave for menstruation and menopause advance women’s rights and gender equality at work?
As pressure grows for action to establish new work rights, including additional leave, for those who experience menstruation and menopause, the Centre for Future Work’s Senior Researcher, Lisa Heap, canvases the debate about whether these rights will advance gender equality at work.
Calls for massive rate hikes and recession are cavalier: Jericho
Inflation will remain higher for longer, but a recession is not the solution, says Greg Jericho.
Increasing JobSeeker is possible, it’s just a question of priorities
The government has the power to make significant and long-awaited improvements to the JobSeeker scheme in this federal budget, but it has to make it a priority, says Greg Jericho.
April 2024
Who’s hurting most from rising interest rates? It’s probably you.
Soaring house prices, high household debt and the pervasiveness of variable rate home loans mean that Australians bear the brunt of interest rate rises, says Greg Jericho.
Video: The Right to Disconnect is NOT Bad for Productivity
The Right to Disconnect legislation being passed recently has attracted criticism from Opposition leader Peter Dutton and business groups, who say it’s bad for productivity. They may need to learn some basic maths, because they couldn’t be more wrong. Centre for Future Work Director Dr Jim Stanford explains. Research indicates the average Australian worker performs
Australia’s “stupid” surplus obsession must end
A budget surplus doesn’t mean a government is good at running the economy – we should focus on the choices they make instead, says Greg Jericho.
“It’s a scare campaign”: award wage rise won’t trigger inflation spiral
With unions calling for a five per cent increase to award wages, business groups are crying wolf over the proposal’s impact on inflation and unemployment, says Greg Jericho.
March 2024
The RBA should keep its finger off the interest rate trigger
With unemployment tumbling in February, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should resist the urge to raise interest rates, says Australia Institute Chief Economist Greg Jericho.
Fixing the work and care crisis means tackling insecure and unpredictable work
The Fair Work Commission is examining how to reduce insecurity and unpredictability in part-time and casual work to help employees better balance work and care. The Commission is reviewing modern awards that set out terms and conditions of employment for many working Australians to consider how workplace relations settings in awards impact on work and
On International Women’s Day: How the Fair Work Commission Can Really Take On the Gender Pay Gap
On occasion of International Women’s Day, the Centre for Future Work’s Senior Researcher Lisa Heap reviews the opportunities to use recent industrial relations reforms to more ambitiously address Australia’s gender pay gap.
February 2024
The gas industry is laughing at us as they make more money but not more tax
Despite soaring production and revenues the gas industry is not paying more tax
More loopholes to close on insecure work … and a new right to disconnect from work
Late yesterday the final part 2 of the government’s Closing Loopholes industrial relations bill was passed by the Senate.
“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
January 2024
We Cannot Truly Value ‘Care’ Until Workers Using Digital Labour Platforms Get Fair Pay and Conditions
Unless minimum employment standards for care and support workers using digital labour platforms are guaranteed, decades of slow progress towards proper recognition of care work and equal pay for women could be undone.
December 2023
Closing Loopholes: Important repairs to the industrial relations system, no more, no less
Labour hire workers can no longer be paid less than employees doing the same job in their workplaces as a result of industrial reforms passed by Parliament. However, other important reforms to close loopholes in employment laws and stop exploitation of workers and avoidance of standards won’t be voted on in Parliament until next year.
The Stage 3 tax cuts will make our bad tax system worse
Australia has one of the weakest tax systems for redistribution among industrial nations, and as Dr Jim Stanford writes, the Stage 3 tax cuts will make it worse.
Higher exports prices improve the budget, but the Stage 3 tax cuts remain the wrong tax at the wrong time
As the Budget outlook improves, with most of the benefits of Stage 3 tax cuts going to those earing over $120,000, over 80% of workers will be short-changed
Paying for Collective Bargaining
Recent labour law reforms in Australia have focused attention on the crucial role played by collective bargaining in achieving higher wages, safer working conditions, and better job security.
Solidarity Research for Union Renewal
A Symposium of Researchers and Trade Unionists co-hosted by the Centre for Future Work and Unions WA.
November 2023
After two years of profit-led inflation, workers deserve the pay rises they are getting
The wage rises for low-paid workers on awards and those working in aged care helped drive the strong wage growth.
The Government needs to act on Stage 3 as the RBA warns about wealthy households spending
The RBA made it clear one group continues to do well, and continue to spend – and they are also the ones who are about to get a massive tax cut.
When the prices of necessities are rising fast, the RBA does not need to hit households with another rate rise
Cost of living rose by more than inflation because of interest rate rises. Another rate rise would only cause more unnecessary pain.
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