New research by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work shows the Federal Government’s omnibus industrial relations bill will lead to a significant increase in employer-designed enterprise agreements (EA) that reduce workers’ pay and conditions.
Key findings:
- Wage increases under non-union EAs are consistently and significantly lower than in union EAs; on average one-percentage-point lower since 2010
- The majority of non-union EAs approved between 2006 and 2019 did not specify any wage increases at all
- The average duration of a non-union EA is longer than for union EAs, locking in inferior wage outcomes for longer periods
- While the overall share of workers covered by EAs will likely increase if these measures pass, a higher proportion will consist of sub-standard, lower-wage deals
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, wage growth slowed virtually to zero. The omnibus bill will lock in that wage stagnation,” said Alison Pennington, senior economist at the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.
Related research
How Non-Union Agreements Suppress Wage Growth – And Why the Omnibus Bill Will Lead to More of Them