'Australia can't afford a tranche of reforms that would deliver rigid and outdated workplace practices'
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has released new findings that show many Australians reject the government's proposed "Same Jobs, Same Pay" reform.
In a survey among 2,115 Australians, 77% said they would feel "frustrated" if someone who had less experience, or didn't work as hard, was getting the same pay.
Another 75% also agreed that companies should be allowed to hire temporary labour hire workers to fill surge capacity when they have major projects to complete.
These findings were either broadly or relatively consistent across demographic groups and locations, according to the survey.
"People do not support the government's proposal on Same Job, Same Pay," said BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott in a statement.
Same Job, Same Pay reform
The government's "Same Job, Same Pay" proposal wants labour hire workers to be paid with at least the same amount that is provided to directly engaged staff who are carrying out the same work.
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the reform seeks to address the "loophole" in the labour hire system that undercuts what casual employees are getting compared to what has been set as the rate of pay for employees.
The proposal has been the subject of opposition from various business groups, who launched a national campaign in June to raise awareness of the risks if they reform pushes through.
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The legislation has since been delayed until September - a move businesses said recognises the need for more "open and detailed" discussions on the proposal.
"As global economic headwinds gather, Australia can't afford a tranche of reforms that would deliver rigid and outdated workplace practices," Westacott said. "If we end up with changes that aren't grounded in serious analysis of the problem, we'll be making a complex system even more difficult to navigate and even more stuck in old ways of working."
The BCA recognised that Australia needs policies to keep up with increased digitisation and different patterns of work. However, it stressed that the government should ensure that it is not holding back productivity.
"At a time of global economic uncertainty, skyrocketing inflation and a global cost of living crisis, Australia has almost full employment and wages are growing at the fastest rate in over a decade," the BCA chief said.
"We should be encouraging employers to create new jobs and deliver higher wages, not policies that would do the opposite."
The Same Job, Same Pay proposal is among the Albanese government's industrial relations reforms, which include the recently passed, and also business-opposed, multi-employer bargaining.