In June 2013, the federal government was successful in securing significant changes to the Fair Work Act through the federal parliament despite strong opposition from the conservative parties.

In April 2012, the Australian government announced 'Living Longer Living Better', a package of aged care reforms in response to the Productivity Commission recommendations of August 2011.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis the International Monetary Fund, the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and many Western countries commenced a series of programs intended to help cushion the impacts of future economic downturns by developing sustainable and fair employment opportunities in developing countries.

While barely mentioned in the media, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) recently announced it would lodge a submission to Fair Work Australia's annual wage review seeking an increase of $26 per week for Australia's low paid workers in an attempt to lift the minimum adult wage to $615.30 per week. This would mean a 68 cent per hour increase from $15.50 to $16.19 per hour.

Although a relatively new area of nursing in Australia, general practice nursing is now one of the fastest growing areas within the health and community services sectors.

This hardly represents the experiences of the bulk of employers, employees or unions. The vast majority of unions and officers in those unions abide by the right of entry (ROE) laws and this has long been the case.

The increase in precarious employment in Australia is amongst the highest of any OECD country and changes in working time over the last two decades have resulted in a radical shift from the standard model of a 38-hour full time week, to encompass a diversity of new working time arrangements.

The era where employer organisations kept relative silence in the face of massive industrial reform is well and truly over. During the WorkChoices era, when employee rights were decimated, voices of dissent were one sided. Unions and consumer groups lobbied hard against WorkChoices while workers found themselves signing unfair workplace agreements, having awards stripped back and losing protections against unfair dismissal. What did we hear from employers?

The Australian Nursing Federation has now written to more than 1,000 medical practice/clinic employers inviting them to discuss with the union the improvement for practice nurse wages and conditions.

Workers expecting a baby on or after 1 January 2011 can now apply for a government funded paid parental leave scheme of 18 weeks payment at the federal minimum wage ($569.90 a week which is taxable).