Government pushes for multi employer bargaining despite cracks in consensus

Bargaining took centre stage on the first day of Labor's highly anticipated jobs and skills summit, but a unified push to change enterprise bargaining arrangements is beginning to show cracks after a number of employer groups played down their support for the proposed reforms.

It comes as workforce and skills shortages around Australia is tipped to dominate Friday's discussion, with a short-term lift in the ceiling for skilled migrants expected to be announced in order to address the critical issue.

Employment Minister Tony Burke outlined his department would next week begin work translating a number of core reform principles into laws in order to achieve better wages across industries, while cutting down unnecessary complexities within the enterprise bargaining system.

A softening of the better-off-overall-test is also on the cards but retain obligations stopping employee conditions from slipping backwards.

"Consultation with my department for the different stakeholders in turning these principles into law and working through the detail of the principles will begin next week," Mr Burke outlined on Thursday.

"We are ready for business, for unions, and for government to start to work out where are the additional places where we can strengthen tripartism, and constructive social dialogue in workplace relations."

Mr Burke flagged that improved access to flexible working arrangements, empowerment of workers and employers to engage in good faith negotiations and a strengthened Fair Work Commission were also on the table for consideration.

"Let's start to find every mechanism where the three come together. We [can] work proactively to revitalise a culture of creativity productivity, good faith negotiation, and genuine agreement in Australian workplaces," he said.

Changes to the Fair Work Act would become immediate for the territories, who operate entirely under the federal industrial relations system.

The push for bargaining changes comes after the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia and the Business Council of Australia signed separate memorandum of understandings with the Australian Council of Trade Unions for reforms to wage bargaining.

While there has been consensus to simplify the overcomplicated and technical system currently in place, a number of industry groups pushed back on union proposals, which would heighten the risk of more industrial action.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said he was not convinced by pushes by the ACTU for multi-employer bargaining.

He claimed there isn't a need for "radical" change and the focus should instead be on put driving up productivity to spur on higher wages.

"We're not convinced of the need for radical or risky reform," Mr Willox said.

"Part of the issue is that the ACTU to date has provided little detail on the proposal, and employers around the country are deeply concerned about what may be envisaged for a number of reasons.

"There is real concern that such a proposal will risk exposing our community to crippling industrial action across crucial sectors of our economy, and nobody wants that."

ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar also pushed back on the call to implement multi employer bargaining, adding amendments to the BOOT and fixing the Fair Work Commission's "unnecessarily complex and technical" agreement process should be prioritised.

"I think [there is] a consensus between employers and unions that our bargaining system is withering," Mr McKellar said.

"I think we've also heard and seen that there are some distractions about proposals for a return to industry wide bargaining and that has quickly morphed into a push for more multi-employer agreements."

Australian Retailers Association flagged wage increases need to be sustainable and should be in line with underlying inflation, while BCA president Tim Reed said the complexity of bargaining was pushing businesses into rigid award standards.

"We do believe that the IRS system should be able to contribute to real wages growth," Mr Reed said.

"The system is based on legalities. The system is difficult to navigate and frankly, therefore, businesses are opting out of using it and going back to the rigid confines of awards."

Mr Burke also announced a national construction industry forum to address issues like mental health, safety, training, productivity and cultural and gender diversity.

"We've been building up to today. We're not going to waste time," he said.

"People have asked to make sure that they're at the table [and] that consultation will continue in good faith, but we're not going to delay on those issues. We start next week."

Michael Wright from the Electrical Trade Union said the sector was plagued with problems, such as workplace safety and a gender divide.

"We have a gender divide that would have made the 1950s gasp," he said.

"All too often, women don't even have equal bathrooms, let alone the equal pay. Women in construction literally have nowhere to go."

ACT Senator David Pocock highlighted there is a gap in the industry's accountability following the dissolution of the Australian Construction and Building Commission, which Labor disbanded as soon as it entered government.

Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies flagged the building industry was already operating on the slimmest of margins and accounted for a quarter of all business insolvencies.

Women only made up 12 per cent of the workforce and dropped to single digits when it came to trade, he added.

"Skilled migration and training are important but they will not solve the capability and capacity issues that we have in the construction industry," Mr said.

"The only way we can do that is to get more productive, to do more with the resources that we already have, to arrest the spiral of decline and become a safer, fairer, more productive industry.

"We need to change. We need to improve the culture of the industry. We need to improve our capability, capacity and skills and we need to become more financially sustainable.

"We need a disciplined client, a responsible client, a model client to lead us in the right direction. And that client is the government."

Friday's addresses will deal with skill and workforce shortages while an announcement regarding skilled migrants places being lifted is expected.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr told ABC on Thursday he welcomed a lift in the number of skilled migrant places from 160,000 to in the "vicinity' of 200,000 or beyond.

But he expected the Commonwealth would discuss regional economy variances, along with boosting infrastructure and housing, with state and territory leaders.

"One of the challenges at a state and territory level will be around planning and zoning reform so that not all of the new housing is expected to be built on the urban fringes of our major cities," he said.

"That's a discussion that is firmly on the agenda for the national cabinet meeting here in Canberra in a month's time."