Australia – Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill passes Senate

Last week Australia’s Senate passed the government’s Fair Work Amendment Legislation (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. The bill is set to be given Royal Assent and made into law.

The legislation contains considerable changes to Australia’s industrial relations system.

One of the changes will see...

New Zealand – Online job ads climb 9.5% over the year in September, quarterly growth up 4.4%

Online job advertising in New Zealand grew by 9.5% in September 2022 when compared to September 2021, according to the latest research from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in New Zealand.

For the three month period ended in September 2022, quarterly growth stood at 4.4%.

In the September...

Taiwan – Unemployment rate improves slightly to 3.64% in October

Taiwan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.64% in October 2022, down 0.19% when compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics.

When compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate declined by 0.02%.

On a seasonally...

Australia – Former café operators fined after deliberately falsifying wage records

Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman has secured AUD 192,995 (USD 129,735) in penalties in court against the former operators of a café in the Perth Central Business District after they deliberately falsified wage records.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed an AUD 168,415 (USD 113,211) penalty...

New Zealand – Changes to partner work visas deferred to April 2023

Changes to partner work visas in New Zealand that were set to come into effect in December 2022 have been deferred to April 2023, the country’s Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.

Wood said, "Our Government wants to provide greater certainty for migrant partners of their ability...

South Korea – Majority of companies expect ‘serious’ economic conditions to continue next year

Half of South Korean companies predict that they will continue to be 'very serious' about the economic situation next year, according to a survey from Saramin HR.

The survey also found that 46% of respondent companies said that they were 'somewhat serious', and 96% said that next year's economic situation...

Asia Pacific – Stagnant Japanese wages risk making Southeast Asian workers look elsewhere, study finds (Nikkei Asia)

Japan's stagnant wages risk making the country unattractive to Southeast Asian and Chinese workers by the early 2030s, reports Nikkei Asia, citing research by the Japan Centre for Economic Research. The study compares wages earned by factory workers in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand...

Bangladesh – Foreign jobs likely to hit record 1.1 million this year (The Business Standard)

Foreign job creation for Bangladesh workers reached a new high  this year breaking recent records even though the country saw a decline in remittance inflow amid the global economic slowdown, reports The Business Standard. Around 1.02 million Bangladeshi workers were sent abroad till November this...

Japan – CRG Holdings to acquire Osiete Co Ltd

Japan-based temporary staffing and HR services business CRG Holdings announced that it has acquired the shares of Osiete Co., Ltd.

The price of the transaction is JPY 602 million (USD 4.5 million).

Osiete Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the platform business of interpretation and translation services...

Australia – Seek average advertised salaries up 4% in October

Average advertised salaries on job board Seek in Australia were 4.0% higher in October 2022 compared to October 2021. The slight uptick in annual growth is related to the Covid-19 lockdowns of late 2021.

When compared to the previous month, advertised salaries have grown by approximately 0.4%.

On a quarterly...