Unions have welcomed Australia’s new IR regime. 

Senator David Pocock last week voted with the Government, the Greens and some crossbench MPs to vote in favour of the Secure Jobs Better Pay bill, which could bring wage growth for working people. 

After almost a decade of little to no real wage growth, unions say that new IR laws have come when they are most needed.  

The bill comes after several displays of the power of collective actions.  

Australia has seen flight attendants sing outside Senator Pocock’s office and skeletons ‘waiting for a pay rise’ sit in spots across Tasmania. Union members travelled to parliament to present a long list of items workers have cut from their holiday’s budgets.  

While business groups have railed against the bill’s provision for multi-employer bargaining, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says; “Workers across the country will be in a more powerful position when it comes to bargaining with their employers”. 

“A stronger bargaining mechanism in the laws means workers can negotiate pay rises through a fairer and more equitable system,” the group said in a statement. 

“With multi-employer bargaining embedded in the new laws, all workers now have a pathway to better wage growth.”

They also welcomed the ban on pay secrecy laws, which have been found to exacerbate the gender pay gap. 

Experts have found that workers who are free to discuss their pay are more likely to perform better at work and have better job satisfaction. 

“Union members have long been campaigning to regulate the gig economy, to end rorting of labour hire and casual employment, and end systemic wage theft,” the ACTU says. 

“We look forward to the Albanese Government delivering on these commitments. 

“What makes collective bargaining so effective for workers is the same thing that strengthened bargaining laws: collective action. ”