Latest news with #MicheleO'Neil
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Fed up and burnt out': Greens and unions push for four-day work week at government roundtable
Unions are calling for a major rethink of working hours amid rising burnout and stagnant productivity, but one minister warns the proposal may be little more than 'gaslighting' workers. The Australian Greens have thrown their support behind the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (ACTU) call for shorter working weeks with no loss of pay, urging the federal government to place the issue at the forefront of next week's Economic Reform Roundtable. The ACTU will propose that Australia move towards a four-day work week where appropriate while also adopting sector-specific alternatives where a full reduction isn't possible. These alternatives could include more rostered days off, increased annual leave or redesigned rosters that improve predictability, job security and work-life balance. Pay and conditions, such as penalty rates, overtime, and minimum staffing levels, would be protected to ensure workers do not lose income as a result. The unions argue that workers deserve to benefit from productivity gains and technological advances that have so far disproportionately favoured corporate profits over wages. ACTU president Michele O'Neil highlighted the benefits of shorter working hours for both workers and employers, explaining they lead to improved productivity and enable people to live 'happier, healthier, and more balanced lives'. 'Unions want all Australians to benefit from higher productivity, not just those with money and power,' Ms O'Neil said. 'Productivity growth does not automatically translate to higher living standards. If that were the case over the past 25 years, the average worker today would be around $350 a week better off. 'For workers in some sectors, shorter working hours can be delivered through moving to a four-day work week. For other people, this could be achieved through other ways, such as more time off or fairer rosters.' Ms O'Neil argued that in the age of AI, a fair approach means lifting living standards for everyone, rather than 'boosting corporate profits and executive bonuses'. The ACTU's campaign is backed by growing evidence. A peer-reviewed study published recently in Nature Human Behaviour found that a four-day work week boosted performance, reduced burnout, and improved employee health and retention. The study examined nearly 3000 employees across 141 organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the UK, and the US. Trials both here and overseas have shown that well-planned four-day week implementations, where workers participate in redesigning workflows, can deliver significant productivity benefits. A 2023 Swinburne University study of 10 Australian companies trialling the four-day week found that productivity rose at 70 per cent of the firms and remained stable at the others. The Australian Greens have welcomed the ACTU's calls for shorter working weeks with the same pay, urging the government to prioritise the issue at its upcoming productivity roundtable. Greens senator Barbara Pocock pointed out that in recent decades, the profit share of GDP has grown while workers' share has steadily declined, explaining that workers are 'fed up and burnt out'. 'They've done unpaid overtime, suffered real wage cuts, and face an expectation of constant connection with their workplace,' Ms Pocock said. 'It's time for the workers to get their fair share.' Ms Pocock added that shorter work weeks helped reduce absenteeism, improved recruitment and retention and gave workers more time to balance their lives. She said Australia had already made advances in flexible working and remote work, making a four-day week the logical next step. However, not everyone is convinced by the unions' approach. Opposition small business, industrial relations and employment spokesman Tim Wilson described the announcement as a 'set-up'. 'The four-day push is the unions gaslighting workers, an ambit claim they know won't be delivered so the Treasurer can walk out of his tax hike summit and say he's being reasonable because he hasn't given business everything they want, nor the unions,' Mr Wilson told NewsWire. 'This is a set-up and they're playing everyone, so we are going to call it out. 'An honest conversation about employment laws should focus on raising living standards and workplace flexibility through partnerships. That's why the Coalition backs real flexibility.' Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar responded cautiously to the proposal, suggesting the unions are focusing on dividing up benefits before addressing how to achieve productivity gains. 'Well, I think they're putting the cart before the horse, honestly,' Mr McKellar said. 'They are coming, I think, with an idea about how to divide up the benefits but without at this point suggesting anything that will actually get us there at that stage.' He urged the ACTU to come prepared with practical ideas to improve workplace effectiveness and reduce regulatory burdens, especially for small businesses. 'If you want to be able to get those benefits ... for businesses and for employees, then you've got to be coming with real suggestions, practical ideas about how to boost productivity,' Mr McKellar said. Referencing the Reserve Bank governor, Mr McKellar warned that low productivity led to low growth and lower living standards. He added that business was ready to engage at the roundtable with ideas to improve productivity but cautioned against focusing only on dividing benefits without addressing productivity.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Union movement to push for four-day work week at economic roundtable
The union movement will push for a four-day work week at the Albanese government's upcoming economic round table in a bid to improve work-life balance. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil will cite academic research that argues businesses can achieve greater levels of productivity if the policy is implemented. The four-day model would apply to industries where appropriate and sector-specific alternatives would be suggested where it is not feasible. O'Neil's push for the popular workplace policy will likely cause a clash between the unions and workplace groups on what the best approach will be to improve productivity. The ACTU will also argue that pay and conditions including penalty rates, overtime and minimum staffing levels would be protected to ensure a reduced working week does not result in a loss of pay. Loading O'Neil told this masthead she was confident this proposal would be well received at the economic roundtable beginning on Tuesday next week. 'We really are hopeful that there's an open mind that we see employers and organisations come to the roundtable willing to think about how are we going to do things differently and not have knee-jerk reactions to proposals,' she said. 'It's a way of sharing productivity improvements that will really benefit workers and their families, but also it'll be good for business. So we're optimistic at the roundtable, but we also know there's a lot to discuss.'
The Age
3 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Union movement to push for four-day work week at economic roundtable
The union movement will push for a four-day work week at the Albanese government's upcoming economic round table in a bid to improve work-life balance. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil will cite academic research that argues businesses can achieve greater levels of productivity if the policy is implemented. The four-day model would apply to industries where appropriate and sector-specific alternatives would be suggested where it is not feasible. O'Neil's push for the popular workplace policy will likely cause a clash between the unions and workplace groups on what the best approach will be to improve productivity. The ACTU will also argue that pay and conditions including penalty rates, overtime and minimum staffing levels would be protected to ensure a reduced working week does not result in a loss of pay. Loading O'Neil told this masthead she was confident this proposal would be well received at the economic roundtable beginning on Tuesday next week. 'We really are hopeful that there's an open mind that we see employers and organisations come to the roundtable willing to think about how are we going to do things differently and not have knee-jerk reactions to proposals,' she said. 'It's a way of sharing productivity improvements that will really benefit workers and their families, but also it'll be good for business. So we're optimistic at the roundtable, but we also know there's a lot to discuss.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
ACTU to put forward four-day work week proposal without hit to pay to Anthony Albanese's economic reform roundtable
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has revealed it will put forward a proposal for the federal government to back a four-day working week without compromising pay or benefits at the imminent economic reform roundtable. From August 19 to 21 the government will convene a group of 22 representatives from business, industry, unions and politics to discuss proposals aimed at kickstarting the economy and boosting Australia's record low productivity slump. The government has become increasingly concerned about the growing expectations attached to the three-day roundtable, with union and industrial relations groups using the summit to advocate for sweeping changes to the tax system and bolstered rights for workers. In early June ACTU secretary Sally McManus urged the government to limit negative gearing and capital gains tax to one investment property and to slap hefty taxes on family trusts and resources to alleviate the country's productivity woes. The peak union body has now announced it will advance a four-day working week plan at the government's flagship productivity roundtable, arguing that workers needed to benefit from productivity gains and that reduced working hours were key. The ACTU's proposal which is set to spark alarm from business and industry bodies will call for Australia to move towards a four-day work week 'where appropriate' and use sector specific alternatives where it is not. These sector specific models would include giving workers more rostered days off, increased annual leave and altering rosters to provide a better work-life balance and increased predictability. To ensure that less working hours did not result in a hit to pay, the union said the policy would protect pay and conditions, penalty rates, overtime and minimum staffing levels. However, the ACTU is not arguing for a fixed four day-working week but rather referenced a Swinburne University trial into a 100:80:100 proposition, in which employees work 80 per cent of their former hours but keep 100 per cent of their earning on the basis they maintain 100 per cent productivity. A 2023 study involving ten Australian companies trialling a four-day work week conducted at Swinburne University found that productivity was higher at seven of the firms and remained the same at three of the companies. The union said that Australia's historic productivity slump was the result of underinvestment by businesses and corporations in workers, research and capital and that it would put forward the plan at next week's economic summit. ACTU president Michele O'Neil said that less working hours would allow employees to live 'happier, healthier and more balanced lives,' and that the proposal was 'good for both workers and employers.' 'Unions want all Australians to benefit from higher productivity – not just those with money and power,' Ms O'Neil said. 'Productivity growth does not automatically translate to higher living standards. If that were the case over the past twenty-five years, the average worker today would be around $350 a week better off. The union group cited research undertaken by Jim Standford from the Centre for Future Work that if real wages had grown at the same rate as productivity since 2002 then average wages would be 18 per cent higher than current levels. 'For workers in some sectors, shorter working hours can be delivered through moving to a four-day work week. For other people, this could be achieved through other ways, such as more time off or fairer rosters,' she said. The union also put forward a peer reviewed study published in Nature Human Behaviour which found that a four-day work week boosted performance, reduced burnout and improved employee health and retention.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Four-day work week: ACTU to push shorter week Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic roundtable, no pay cuts
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will present a proposal advocating for reduced working hours, including a four-day work week, at next week's Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra. This initiative aims to ensure Australians gain from productivity improvements and technological advances, and say it's 'key to lifting living standards'. Unions argue that a shorter working week is essential for improving employees' quality of life. They stress that such a reduction should not come with any loss of pay or conditions, with protections covering penalty rates, overtime, and minimum staffing levels. For sectors where a four-day week is impractical, unions suggest alternatives such as increased rostered days off, extended annual leave, and redesigned rosters to improve predictability, security, and work-life balance. Supporting their case, the ACTU cites recent peer-reviewed research published in Nature Human Behaviour showing the benefits of a four-day work week, which include boosted performance, reduced burnout, and enhanced employee health and retention. This study examined nearly 2,900 employees across organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the UK, and the US. Australian trials likewise support these findings. A 2023 study from Swinburne University involving ten Australian companies revealed that 70 per cent experienced higher productivity during four-day week trials, with the remaining firms maintaining previous productivity levels. The ACTU further argued the nation's sluggish productivity growth, linking it to insufficient investment in capital, research, and people. They cited research from Dr Jim Stanford's analysis from the Centre for Future Work, which shows a significant gap between productivity and wage growth. It found if wages kept pace with productivity since 2000, average earnings would be approximately 18 per cent higher or about $350 more per week. The Productivity Commission's recent research notes that Australians are working record hours, but without the complementary business investment necessary to enhance efficiency. ACTU president Michele O'Neil is pushing the dual benefit of shorter hours, stating, 'Shorter working hours are good for both workers and employers. They deliver improved productivity and allow working people to live happier, healthier and more balanced lives.' Ms O'Neil emphasised the union's vision for fairness amid technological change: 'Unions want all Australians to benefit from higher productivity – not just those with money and power...' 'For workers in some sectors, shorter working hours can be delivered through moving to a four-day work week. For other people, this could be achieved through other ways, such as more time off or fairer rosters. A fair go in the age of AI should be about lifting everyone's living standards instead of just boosting corporate profits and executive bonuses.'
