Australia’s government eyes post-COVID labour reforms

Significance

This comes as the government prepares to resume efforts to overhaul workplace laws, arguing that these reforms are needed to revive the economy after COVID-19; Morrison has said the country’s lockdowns come with a 4.0-billion-dollar (2.6-billion-US-dollar) weekly economic cost.

Impacts

• A hit to economic growth will strengthen the government’s case for changing workplace conditions.
• Increasing labour productivity will be the reforms’ key objective.
• Rising job insecurity will weaken trade union power as employees negotiate their own workplace deals.
• Any relaxation to labour laws will help smaller firms, especially those with tight cashflow, as the economy recovers.