Australia News

PM proposes bargaining revamp to ‘help living costs’

Eliza Sayon Sep 8, 2022

2 min read

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that changes to Australia’s enterprise bargaining system would help to address the rising cost of living that citizens have been facing lately.

Changes to the country’s enterprise bargaining system would allow people to better deal with the rising cost of living, according to the Prime Minister.

In a speech to business leaders on Thursday, Anthony Albanese said improvements to the system can also potentially help in closing the gender pay gap that is plaguing the workforce.

The government is looking to legislate multi-employer agreements following its jobs and skill summit last week.

However, the plan has come under fire from business groups, who have said the proposal could lead to further industrial action.

The Prime Minister told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia function in Canberra all employers would gain from the changes.

“Industry, small business and big employers will all benefit from a bargaining framework that’s more flexible, more straightforward and more attuned to the realities of Australia in the 2020s,” he said.

“Better bargaining will mean stronger wages growth, helping people with rising living costs.”

The Prime Minister said working women would be some of the biggest winners from the bargaining overhaul, as it would allow them to receive higher pay in sectors such as aged care and childcare.

“If we want to attract and indeed retain the people who do this vital work we need to pay them properly, and we need to treat them with respect,” he said.

The Prime Minister moved to dismiss concerns such changes to bargaining would lead to further strikes, saying there would be benefits for both workers and employers.

“There are advantages for business in having simplification of the bargaining process, but there are also advantages for workers as well in those outcomes,” he said.

With AAP

Eliza Sayon

Website | + posts

Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.