Archived News for Human Resource Professionals - May, 2012
Pride in Diversity has held its annual Pride in Diversity Awards, celebrating the top 10 Employers for LGBT employees.
The top 10 employers were:
- PwC
- KPMG
- IBM Australia
- Accenture Australia
- Goldman Sachs
- Lend Lease
- Joint 7th place and highest ranking public sector organisations (no 8th placement) Macquarie University and University of Western Australia
- Australian Federal Police
- Chevron
Winners of the awards were determined using Pride in Diversity’s Australian Workplace Equality Index, that evaluates and benchmarks LGBT inclusiveness in the country’s workplaces.
“The Australian Workplace Equality Index is close to DCA’s heart, having partnered with ACON and Stonewall UK to establish Pride in Diversity in 2009. The index is now an important indicator of which organisations are strongly committed to embracing and nurturing inclusive workplace cultures. We congratulate the many DCA members who have been acknowledged in this way,” Diversity Council of Australia CEO Nareen Young said.
Gender pay inequality persists
Recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found that the gender pay disparity continues to persist in Australia, with women, on average, earning 17.4 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Greens demand action on workplace bullying
The ACT Greens have released the results of their ACT Workplace Bullying Survey, finding that workplace bullying is rife in most workplaces.
WA Government supports minimum wage increase
The Western Australian Government’s submission to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission’s State Wage Case has recommended the State minimum wage be increased in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
APS figures show 1.7% growth in 2011
The Australian Public Service Commission has released its snAPShot summary of employment for the calendar year to December 31, 2011.
NSW inquiry into workers compensation
The NSW parliamentary inquiry into workers compensation, undertaken by a Joint Select Committee established on May 2, is underway.
Government announces disability employment contracts
The Federal Government has announced future contracts for the Disability Employment Services-Employment Support Service, which will run for the next five years.
AI Group urges caution over wage increase
The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) has urged the Minimum Wage Panel to take a cautious approach to the upcoming Annual Wage Review, saying that any changes could potentially damage non-mining sectors.
Business Travel to Australia increasing
Australia is fast becoming a destination for work, as well as play, with new Tourism Research Australia (TRA) figures estimating $10 billion was spent in 2011 by business event visitors.
Maternity care causes issues for mums
Global charity and advocacy group, Save the Children, has published its annual report into the quality of life for mothers, showing that Australia’s ranking has slipped, precipitated by a lack of quality maternity leave.
Limits placed on ETP tax offset
The Government has announced it will limit the availability of the employment termination payment (ETP) tax offset.
CPSU calls for assurances on forced redundancies
Up to 4,200 Commonwealth public servants will lose their jobs as a result of measures in the 2012-13 budget, with 3000 expected to be made redundant over the next 14 months.
Government outlines assistance to First Fleet workers
The Federal Government has announced plans to expedite assistance for unpaid entitlements for workers who have lost their jobs at transport company First Fleet and car parts manufacturer CMI Industrial.
National Career Development Strategy dumped
The Federal budget has cut funding for the National Career Development Strategy from 30 June 2012, generating savings of $17.0 million over three years.
Queensland Government announces new wages deal
The Queensland Government has announced a new wages framework providing pay increases of up to 3 per cent to public servants in return for productivity savings.
Queensland looks to reform sub-contractor payment laws
The Queensland Housing and Public Works Minister Bruce Flegg is examining a number of reforms, including legislative changes, to help sub-contractors receive payment for their work.
ANZ releases April job advertising figures
The ANZ has released its job advertising figures for April, finding the total number of job advertisements have fallen 3.1 per cent in April after rising 0.7 per cent in March, meaning the results are about 1.7 per cent lower than the April 2011 level.
Employer commencement incentive payment scrapped for non-National Skills list
In addition, the Government will achieve savings of $47.8 million over four years from 2012-13 by changing the payment arrangements for the standard apprenticeship commencement incentive. The incentive payment will be made six months after an apprentice commences employment rather than the current three months.
Mature Age Workers targeted in budget
The Australian Government has announced it will broaden the eligibility of the More Help for Mature Age Workers (MHMAW) program and make changes to the payment structure to help address current levels of unmet demand.
Unemployment continues to drop
Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 4.9 per cent in April, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). There was also a decrease in the labour force participation rate of 0.1 percentage points in April to 65.2 per cent.
The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 15,500 to 11,501,000 in April. The increase in employment was driven by increased part-time employment, up 26,000 people to 3,438,200, and was offset by decrease in full-time employment, down 10,500 people to 8,062,800. The increase in employment was mainly driven by an increase in male part-time employment.
The number of people unemployed decreased by 28,800 people to 598,200 in April, the ABS reported.
The ABS monthly aggregate hours worked series showed an increase in April, up 6.6 million hours to 1,633.9 million hours.
There has been some interest recently in how changes in the Australian population impact on the estimates of employment from the Labour Force Survey. The responses collected from the sample of people in the survey are weighted to projections of the Australian population for the current quarter. These population projections are based on the most up-to-date information available, but are different to the official estimates of resident population that are calculated at a later date. In order to explain these issues, the ABS has produced a special feature article "Population Benchmarks and the Labour Force Survey" in this month's publication.
More details are in the April 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming April 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) due for release next week on May 17. Both publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.
$25.8 million to help mature age jobseekers
The Federal Government has announced $25.8 million in spending over four years to provide assistance for eligible mature age jobseekers in finding and keeping a job.