Workers need six-months notice to end WFH, says union
That's the proposal from the Australian Services Union.
Its been made to a review the Fair Work Commission is undertaking of the clerks award, which informs the working conditions of millions of Australians, which is being seen as a test case for the broader workforce amid a growing tussle over flexible work.
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9 News
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Surprising number of Aussies back proposed super tax hike
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Higher taxes tend to be about as welcome as a flat tyre but it appears Australians actually aren't too fussed about one that's heading their way. That will effectively see earnings on accounts with a balance of more than $3 million taxed at 30 per cent, instead of 15. A new poll suggests only a small number of Australians oppose the government's proposed tax increase for earnings on superannuation balances above $3 million. (Dion Georgopoulos/SMH) The government took the policy to the May election, which it won in a historic landslide, and has been at pains to point out it will affect just the wealthiest 0.5 per cent of people with a super account – about 80,000 in total. At the same time, it is forecast to generate $2 billion in revenue for the federal budget in its first year alone. It seems the government's message has got through, with a new survey from trading and investment platforms eToro and Spaceship finding a clear majority of Australians aren't opposed to the tax increase. The survey of 1000 people with superannuation accounts found 45 per cent supported the policy and 29 per cent were neutral on the issue. The government has been at pains to stress the small proportion of Australians who will be affected by the change. (Getty) Just 26 per cent of respondents said they opposed the proposal. Unsurprisingly, given they are the cohort who are more likely to have more than $3 million in super – and also more likely to be drawing on their super balances – people aged 60-65 were most opposed to the new tax, with 37 per cent saying they were against it. However, 47 per cent of Baby Boomers said they supported it, with just 16 per cent of the oldest cohort undecided on the issue. The proposal enjoyed the highest level of support from Gen Z, with 48 per cent of 18-27-year-olds saying they backed the tax while just 16 per cent opposed it. "It's notable that a significant portion of Australians either support the measure or remain neutral," eToro managing director Robert Francis said. "This suggests a broad recognition of the need for tax reform, particularly around high super balances. "For younger Australians who are more in support of this change, the tax may be seen as a step towards greater equity in the retirement system, while older Australians, especially those nearing or in retirement, are more likely to view it as a potential threat to their savings." While the government comfortably has the numbers to get the tax through the House of Representatives, it requires the support of either the Greens or opposition to pass the Senate and have it become law. CONTACT US
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
The ASU is pushing for presumed work from home. Here's what that means
Working from home may become the presumed status of Australia's white-collar workforce as part of a new push from the Australian Services Union (ASU). The ASU announced plans to submit the new clause to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) this week and has published the results of a new survey to support its plans. Here's what you need to know: The ASU is proposing a new clause that will give clerical and administrative staff the presumed right to work from home if it is reasonably requested. If an employer and employee cannot come to an agreement, the employer would be required to give that employee 26 weeks' notice before enforcing a return to the office. ASU Assistant National Secretary Emeline Gaske said a fair notice period was a critical protection that recognised the reality of people's lives. "For many people, particularly women, working from home is deeply integrated into how they manage their family and caring responsibilities," she said. "Suddenly removing that arrangement isn't a simple change — it pulls a thread that can unravel a family's entire routine. "It means finding new after-school care where there are often long waiting lists, rearranging transport, or finding alternative support for an elderly parent." The FWC is working to develop a working from home term for the Clerks Award that supports employers and employees making workable arrangements. The ASU's clause forms part of a submission to the Clerks Award review. The Clerks Award covers private sector staff whose primary duties are administrative or clerical. According to ABS data, about 1.8 million Australians are clerical and administrative employees, of which about three-quarters are women. About 91,000 are covered by the clerks' award. The ASU represents a broad range of industries, including: local government, social and community services, transport, travel and airlines. They also represent clerical and admin staff in various industries in the private sector. A survey of 600 workers conducted by the ASU found: One union member, IT software specialist Shaun Ruigrok, said working from home helped him to be more productive. He said that as a neurodiverse person, he was able to set up a working space that was not as overstimulating and exhausting as a work office environment. Ms Gaske said the people who have overwhelmingly taken up working from home are women, particularly those with care responsibilities. "If we were to cut those conditions, it would have a really negative impact on working women who are trying to manage their care and work responsibilities," she said. Ms Gaske said some big businesses were asking employees to give up penalties and overtime rates in exchange for working from home. "Over many, many years we've seen the big business lobby try and attack penalty rates and overtime pay at any opportunity they get," Ms Gaske said. "I think this is just another attempt to whittle away some of these conditions." Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox has described the proposal from the union as the "loopiest yet". "The proposal is not only entirely unnecessary and unreasonable, it would inevitably operate to discourage employers from continuing to adopt an accommodating approach to employee requests to work from home," he said. He referred to an independent survey of employers and employees undertaken at the Fair Work Commission's request, which found 94 per cent of employees who asked for working from home arrangements had their request approved or partly approved. "The Fair Work Act already gives employees the right to request flexible working arrangements, including working from home, in a range of circumstances," Mr Willox said. "Employers can only reject these requests on reasonable business grounds." He said the ASU's proposal could force employers to refuse flexibility out of fear they would not be able to require a return to the office in a reasonable timeframe if the circumstances change or the arrangement is proving to be unworkable. "We want employers to be free to work with employees to structure their working hours in a way that suits them," he said. The ASU said it would make its new submission on Tuesday. The Clerks Working From Home review will remain open for submissions until September 2 before entering the next stage. A hearing for further directions from the FWC will be held on September 5.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How do you decarbonise an economy? Line by line, says Matt Kean
Kean's view is that the authority's recommendation should be based on a conservative analysis of new technologies. 'If some of those technologies come off, great, but we have tried to anchor this in tangible, deliverable technologies and outcomes,' he says. Kean had to consider the impact of the Trump administration dumping most of the Biden-era climate policies, but he also considered how the transformation of China's manufacturing of green technology was dramatically changing the economics for the better. The government will not be beholden to any recommendation that the authority finally makes, but given how much political capital it has spent developing its climate policy, it appears unlikely that Kean will be ignored. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been campaigning to secure the right to host the COP climate talks in November next year, an effort Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has endorsed. Embarrassingly for the government, it has so far failed to knock out a rival bid by Turkey. Australia's 2035 target must be credible to advance that bid. Before the authority's recommendation comes up, the government is expected to publish its National Climate Risk Assessment – a report on the effects of climate change that Australians can expect to face this century under low- and high-emissions scenarios. It is expected to be grim reading. Kean claims not to be fazed by the competing demands placed on him, and says he has lost no political friendships by working on a project still contested by parts of the Liberal-National Coalition he once served. 'My friends are still my friends and my detractors are still my detractors,' he says. 'Clearly, Labor haven't chosen me because of my political learnings. They've chosen me because of what I've delivered and in terms of what I tried to focus on when I was in government … tackling this problem in a way that tries to build consensus and bring communities together in the state's interest or the national interest ... This is not a red team/blue team challenge.' Kean is referring to his time as energy and environment minister in the former NSW Coalition government, which legislated a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, 70 per cent by 2035 and net zero by 2050. To win the politics, Kean first enacted the policies that would get the state on track to net zero, then urged his colleagues in the Liberal-National Party room to bank the win. The sector-by-sector approach for the Climate Authority is quite different – more akin, Kean says, to his subsequent role as NSW treasurer. Loading Either way, his work is drawing him deeper into the political and economic fray. He notes that the Productivity Commission has recommended that the authority expand its remit, a position he welcomes. 'My vision for the Climate Change Authority is for us to be the RBA equivalent when it comes to climate policy: independent, frank and fearless advice provided to the government and the public that people can have confidence in,' Kean says. 'That's what I want to build the institution to. I want [it] to be a fixture in the Australian political and policy landscape that is trusted and respected.' Outside observers are broadly complimentary about the Climate Change Authority's work. One analyst with a business group notes that the authority could have submitted politically safe set of numbers months ago and the delay suggests the work is rigorous. Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie says that under Kean, the authority has engaged deeply across the sector. Loading Leading economist Ross Garnaut says he has great confidence in the Climate Change Authority to come up with an appropriate target. 'They are doing the detailed work that I haven't, and I am very confident that they will make recommendations that are in our national interest,' Garnaut says. Kean has also been appointed to the board of The Nature Conservancy Australia and plans to advocate on the biodiversity crisis. 'Since 1788, we have had 34 mammal species go extinct, or almost one in 10,' he says. 'That's a world-leading tally we should all be ashamed of.' Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act are needed, Kean says, and should possibly include a climate trigger 'given the climate change impacts are many and accelerating in their intensity and impact'. Loading Kean says decarbonising the economy is in the overriding national and environmental interest. It's also in the interest of future generations, something Kean feels keenly as a young father to two stepchildren and two biological children. His newest child, Zoe, is just eight weeks old, and he worries that she will never see the Great Barrier Reef. 'What motivates me is the idea that we can hand our planet to our kids better than we found it, and we can hand them an economy stronger and more prosperous than we found it,' Kean says. 'I would have thought that's something that can unite all Australians.'
