The union movement is demanding the Commonwealth's coronavirus wage subsidy scheme be extended for at least six months, as the nation grapples with a surge in COVID-19 cases in Victoria and clusters in Sydney.
Key points:
- Ongoing support to people and businesses will be revealed later this week in a budget update
- ACTU boss Michele O'Neil wants the support program extended for at least six months
- The ACTU says free childcare might help to offset the "pink recession"
The details of ongoing federal support for businesses and individuals will be outlined on Thursday, when Treasurer Josh Frydenberg reveals in stark terms the damage wrought on the budget by the coronavirus crisis.
Among the expected announcements will be an overhaul of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, which is already estimated to have cost the Federal Government $70 billion to the end of September.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has foreshadowed changes to the eligibility requirements for the scheme, suggesting there could be more regular reporting requirements for businesses seeking to access the wage subsidy.
"When the JobKeeper program was first announced, and businesses had to demonstrate a drop in turnover of 30 per cent or 50 per cent depending on their level of turnover, once they were in they were in for the entire six month period," he told Sky News on Sunday morning.
"As we get to the end of that six months, towards the end of September, it is going to be important to reassess which businesses still should be receiving this support.
"In the first six months, irrespective of what happened to your turnover after you initially qualified, you were in — but as we go into this next period, there is a need to reassess whether that support, you still need it for specific businesses."
ACTU President Michele O'Neil said any changes to the scheme along those lines would be welcome.
"We think it makes sense that you check whether the companies are still in distress," Ms O'Neil told the ABC's Insiders program.
"So that notion of just looking at what companies were doing in March, that we should have a regular, we reckon, quarterly check about whether their revenue has still dropped to make them eligible.
"But other than that, we really want to make sure that this program extends at least for six months."
One of the criticisms levelled at the JobKeeper scheme, which provides employers with a flat rate of $1,500 for every staff member they keep on their books, is that some workers have been receiving more money in their pay packet under the subsidy compared with their usual rate of pay.
"When we first designed this scheme back in March, speed was of the essence, simplicity was of the essence," Senator Cormann told Sky News.
"We needed to get the support out into the community, into the economy as swiftly as we could, and it was a huge logistical exercise given the numbers involved.
"So, we accepted the fact that the single payment would result in some people getting more than they otherwise would have under the usual working arrangements."
JobSeeker, the unemployment benefit, was inflated at the height of the coronavirus crisis in expectation of more than 1 million Australians finding themselves out of work during the economic downturn.
Previously known as Newstart, the payment had long been criticised as being far too low, sitting at about $40 a day.
The Federal Government has faced pressure to permanently increase the rate, but Senator Cormann would not pre-empt what Thursday's budget update would include.
"We will, the same as with JobKeeper, in a responsible fashion seek to phase us, phase this back into a more normal situation moving forward," he said.
Unions float "national reconstruction" plan
The ACTU has revealed its five-stage plan to restart the economy, once coronavirus eases.
Chief among the ideas is for permanent free childcare, which the union movement argued would cost about $7 billion every year and offset some of the concerns around the "pink recession" hitting Australia's female workforce.
"This is important because early childhood education and care is essential for children, because we know those early years is when your brain develops, it's when it's most important that you get good quality education and care," Ms O'Neil said.
"But it's also really important for workers, particularly women workers, who still do the primary caring for our children.
"And in Australia, the participation of women in the labour market when you're in the ages of 25-45 is actually less than many other comparable countries in the world."
The ACTU calculated such a policy would add tens of billions of dollars to the economy in extra wages and participation.
Other policies that have been included in the unions' plan are for ongoing wage subsidies for apprentices and free TAFE courses, as well as greater use of Australian content in all government procurement — something the unions argue was highlighted as coronavirus cases first hit the country.
"The notion that we did not have here in Australia, the right sort of personal protective equipment and gear available was a shocking thing to many Australians," Ms O'Neil said.
"So, we need to think about both being ready to have what we need here in terms of sovereign capacity, as well as making sure that we're ready to export strongly."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA3LTE5L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWpvYmtlZXBlciwtam9ic2Vla2VyLWV4dGVuc2lvbi1zb3VnaHQtYnktdW5pb25zLzEyNDcwNTI40gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyNDcwNTI4?oc=5
2020-07-19 01:26:00Z
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