As wages growth and job insecurity loom large in the 2019 election campaign, Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus claims that Australia is at risk of morphing into an "Americanised economy" of low wages and poor job security.

This report argues that structural reforms are urgently required to address the drivers of exploitation. There is also a pressing need for remedial mechanisms that are accessible to individual migrant workers. Against a culture of impunity, predicated on employers’ assumptions that migrant workers will remain silent, these mechanisms are critical to detecting wage theft.

Introducing yet another special agricultural employment visa might destroy the good things about the ones we've got, writes Stephen Howes.

Analysis shows that workers in the gig economy tend to have lower wages than employees. They also often miss out on a number of other benefits. Further, their classification as independent contractors has implications on their tax status and superannuation. This research note examines how these issues are being addressed in a variety of jurisdictions.

This paper evaluates the impact of the Australian agriculture sector's Pacific seasonal worker program on workers, their households, and communities.