Unemployment and Workchoices: Has Workchoices really contributed to the low unemployment rate? There has been for some time now, considerable publicity and controversy about the Workchoices legislation in Australia. What most people have no idea about is whether it is good or bad for employees and Australia. This confusion exists even though the legislation is… Continue reading Workchoices and the Low Unemployment Rate: Has it really contributed?
Category: Industrial Law
Plummeting levels of union membership
It has been widely reported that overall membership of trade unions has plummeted to an all time low. Union membership has crashed, with recent figures demonstrating that the unions have lost more than 125 000 members in the past 12 months. What is particularly intriguing for the unions is that this has occurred in the… Continue reading Plummeting levels of union membership
Case background
Tristar Steering and Suspension Australia Limited is an automotive company which was acquired by Arrowcrest Group Pty Ltd in 2000. Soon after the acquisition, the company began to wind up its manufacturing operations in Australia. The vast majority of employees took voluntary redundancies, however, a small number of approximately 35 employees did not. These 35… Continue reading Case background
What does the new industrial legislation say?
Independent Contractors Act 2006 (Cth) The primary function of the Act is to change the regulation of independent contractors from workplace and industrial law to commercial and contract law. It achieves this objective in a number of ways. Primarily, it: • Maintains the common law distinction between an employee and an independent contractor. • Excludes… Continue reading What does the new industrial legislation say?
Independent Contractors Legislation: What does it say?
Independent Contractors Legislation. In late 2006, the Commonwealth Government passed new independent contractors legislation. This was the Independent Contractors Act 2006 (Cth) and the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Independent Contractors) Act 2006 (Cth). The object of this legislation is to recognise the fact that there are a growing number of independent contractors in the workplace.… Continue reading Independent Contractors Legislation: What does it say?