It is well-established that the right to strike is protected under the International Labour Organization’s 1948 Freedom of Association Convention and 1949 Convention on the Right to Organise. However, this is another internationally recognised right that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Coalition government has been incrementally eroding.
change the rules
The results of the federal election have shown the limitations of the Australian Council of Trade Union-led Change the Rules campaign, writes Sarah Hathway.
A study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on labour relations in 26 developed economies, including Australia, has confirmed that workers’ real wages have fallen because labour market deregulation has “gone too far”.
The IMF researchers noted the “statistically significant, economically large and robust negative effect of deregulation” on labour’s share of national income, with workers’ share of national income falling drastically from 1975 to 2015.
Recently released labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics overwhelming shows that those successful in gaining fulltime employment are those who are already employed, rather than young people entering paid employment or those returning to work after an absence.
Over the previous 12 months, a monthly average of 82,640 people became unemployed, while at the same time about 117,500 unemployed people got jobs.