Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will introduce Labor's Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill to parliament with the government warned it has a fight on its hands to convince employers to back what's being described as "a seismic shift" to the nation's industrial relations laws.
Mr Burke will introduce the bill with a promise to modernise Australia's IR laws and "get wages moving".
Delivering on election commitments to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and take steps towards reducing the gender pay gap, the bill will also empower certain workers, including parents with school-aged children, carers and over 55s, to negotiate more flexible hours.
If employers refuse a request for roster flexibility, they face the threat of forced arbitration before the Fair Work Commission.
Employers and unions have this week been given confidential briefings on the details of the legislation which the government wants passed by Christmas.
The most contentious element is a plan for industry-wide, or multi-employer bargaining, which Labor believes will help fix a broken, and outdated enterprise bargaining system.
Since the system was introduced by the Keating government in the early 1990s, the share of the workforce covered by EBAs has plummeted — meaning more workers are being paid at lower award rates — and wages growth, more generally, has flatlined.
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