Workers produce more, but get paid less. Business invests less in real capital, but their profits grow. Technology advances at breakneck pace, but so many jobs are degraded and menial (not to mention horribly paid). What gives? Australia’s labour market truly seems “upside down.”

The wasteful structure of private competition in the electricity sector is costing every Australian household over $200 per year, according to new research from The Australia Institute. As heatwaves across Australia heighten concern for high electricity prices as households try and stay cool, new research shows the problem in electricity pricing is structural and the

Australia’s manufacturing sector has been experiencing an important and welcome rebound during the last two years. The turnaround has been documented and analysed in previous Centre for Future Work research (including studies published in 2017 and 2018 as part of the National Manufacturing Summit, co-sponsored by the Centre).

New analysis from The Australia Institute has found that nearly one in five Liberal voters in Boothby are now less likely to vote for the party after Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Prime Minister. Furthermore, the majority of Boothby voters support increased spending on health and education over tax cuts and register overwhelming support for

Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work, was recently featured in a new video produced in collaboration with United Voice and the Flip production company.

A majority of Australians (63%) think our society has become more unequal over the last ten years while even more (79%) believe that governments should be doing more to reduce inequality. The new survey data has been released along with a landmark report from Australia21 and The Australia Institute, outlining a path to a more

Workforce (a labour relations bulletin published by Thomson-Reuters) recently surveyed major IR figures in Australia on what they saw as the big issues in 2018, and what they expect as the major talking points for 2019. Jim Stanford, economist and Centre for Future Work director, was one of those surveyed, and here are his remarks.  What

In this commentary, Centre for Future Work Associate Dr. Anis Chowdhury discusses the economic benefits of industry-wide collective bargaining. In addition to supporting wage growth, industry-wide wage agreements generate significant efficiency benefits, by pressuring lagging firms to improve their innovation and productivity performance. The experience of other countries (such as Germany and Singapore) suggests that

Collective bargaining in private sector workplaces could be almost extinct by 2030 under current rules, new research from the Centre for Future Work shows.

by Richard Denniss [This article was originally published in the Australian Financial Review] It’s easier to develop long-run visions than solve short-term problems, which presumably explains why governments facing election defeat seem to care more about what future governments should do, than what their government isn’t doing. Once upon a time treasurers were responsible for

For the third consecutive quarter, the share of Australian GDP paid out in wages, salaries and superannuation contributions to workers has shrunk.  Data for the September quarter of 2018, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, shows that labour compensation accounted for just 46.85% of total economic output – one of the lowest on record.

Australian wage growth has decelerated in recent years to the slowest sustained pace since the 1930s. Nominal wages have grown very slowly since 2012; average real wages (after adjusting for inflation) have not grown at all. The resulting slowdown in personal incomes has contributed to weak consumer spending, more precarious household finances, and even larger government deficits.

New analysis from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program has revealed that the bulk of Australians believe that the Government under Abbott made the wrong decision in scrapping the price on pollution and 63% of people want to see the policy reinstated. “This analysis shows that, despite 2013 supposedly being a referendum on carbon

The 10th annual ‘Go Home On Time Day’ report by The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work estimates that Australian employees will work 3.2 billion hours of unpaid overtime for their employers this year, worth an estimated $106 billion in foregone wages.

Wednesday 21 November is Australia’s official “Go Home On Time Day,” sponsored by the Centre for Future Work and the Australia Institute. This represents the 10th year of our initiative, to provide light-hearted encouragement to Australian workers to actually leave their jobs when they are supposed to. Instead of working late once again – and allowing your employer to “steal” even more of your time, without even paying for it – why not leave the job promptly. Spend a full evening with your family or friends, visit the gym, see a movie – do anything other than work.

Looking purely at the number of people who use negative gearing in South Australian electorates, rather than who makes the most money from the scheme, is an intentionally misleading way to analyse the impacts of potential changes to the policy, an independent think tank has said. “New research from The Australia Institute has shown that

New analysis from The Australia Institute shows that the biggest winners of negative gearing are high income earners and Liberal Party held electorates, meanwhile it presents a double-hit for under 40s who are the biggest losers. Key results: Those aged over 40 years old receive 71% of the benefit of negative gearing, while those 40

A potent tool for cleaning up misconduct in the industry is being overlooked by the Royal Commission into financial services.

The Australia Institute’s exit poll results show the Liberal primary vote collapsed primarily as a result of community concern about inaction on climate change and government support for coal. Key results: Climate change and replacing coal with renewable energy was the biggest single issue motivating voters in Wentworth: 77% of voters said it influenced their

UPDATED The interim results of an exit poll* of 1049 respondents in Wentworth, commissioned by the Australia Institute and undertaken by Lonergan Research, shows the Liberal primary vote collapsed primarily as a result of the community’s concern about the government’s support for coal and inaction on climate change.  “Prime Minister Scott Morrison once brought a

Recent legal decisions are starting to challenge the right of employers to deploy workers in “casual” positions on an essentially permanent basis. For example, the Federal Court recently ruled that a labour-hire mine driver who worked regular shifts for years was still entitled to annual leave, even though he was supposedly hired as a “casual.” This decision has alarmed business lobbyists who reject any limit on their ability to deploy casual labour, while avoiding traditional entitlements (like sick pay, annual leave, severance rights, and more). For them, a “casual worker” is anyone who they deem to be casual; but that open door obviously violates the intent of Australia’s rules regarding casual loading.

The repeated nature of the use of the Opera House sails to project night-time images that are potentially inconsistent with the design of the building or its values requires the matter to be referred to the Federal Environment Department under s68 of the EPBC Act, according to analysis by The Australia Institute. The Australia Institute

by Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute. [Originally published in the Guardian Australia 03.10.18] Greed is good. Or so said Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gekko in the 1980s hit film Wall Street. Gekko went further, stating “Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward