Explainer | Labor brings seismic industrial relations bill to Parliament. What does it mean?

Introducing its industrial relations package to parliament on Thursday, Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke said the new government had taken a major step to doing just that.

The plan would see employers pressured to give more flexibility to their workers, and radically restructure the way pay agreements are struck.

IR policy is notoriously dense, but this bill would drastically change the relationship between millions of workers and their bosses.

"We want workers to have a pathway to a better life and businesses to thrive. For this, we need fair, effective and up-to-date laws. Australians have asked for change. They've asked for less conflict and fairer pay," Mr Burke told Parliament on Thursday.

Here are the main takeaways.

A lot.

Employers will have to think twice if a worker asks for more flexible hours. They'll be required to negotiate and, if no agreement is reached, the worker can take them to the Fair Work Commission for a final verdict. Millions of Australian workers will be eligible, including parents, people over 55, and domestic violence survivors.

Employers also won't be able to ban a worker from telling their colleagues how much they earn, and rolling short-term contracts would be restricted.

The bill paves the way for industry-wide multi-employer bargaining, meaning unions will be able to strike pay deals covering entire sectors, rather than just individual employers. That would give workers the ability to band together more effectively, particularly in industries with many employers.

It will also abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, set up by the Coalition to oversee construction unions. Labor says the body was designed to attack the Coalition's political enemies.

Boost pay packets.

Wage growth has been sluggish for years, and soaring inflation has seen many Australians gripped by a cost-of-living crisis.

Labor says giving employees and unions a stronger bargaining position will see them earn a fairer share.

It argues the main beneficiaries will be women. Women are more likely to be carers, and therefore require flexible working arrangements.

"We have deliberately focused on the needs of lower-paid, and feminised workforces," Mr Burke said on Thursday.

"[Women] are often forced to drop out of the workforce or to take lower-paid or less-secure employment. This plays a major role in widening the gender pay gap."

A mixed bag.

The unions are broadly welcoming the bill. United Workers Union National secretary Tim Kennedy said collective bargaining was "crucial" to getting wages going.

"There is more to be done, but these reforms represent the crucial first step from a government that was elected on the promise that they would get wages moving and address the gender pay gap in this country," he said.

But Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley said the plan could "not come at a worse time" for businesses battling staff shortages and struggling with rising costs.

"What this is, is the Labor Party looking after the unions, making sure that they keep their promises to their union mates," she said on Thursday.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned it would increase strikes, and force sector-wide wage plans which don't fit individual businesses.

READ MORE:

"This gives the Fair Work Commission the power to dictate terms and conditions of employment for workplaces around the country, at the expense of employer and employee priorities with limited ability to appeal," its chief executive Andrew McKellar said.

And the ABCC, set to be scrapped, has long warned misbehaviour in the construction industry will be rampant without proper oversight.

That's unclear.

The government is very eager to push through the bill in one go by December.

But it's facing pushback from the Coalition and independents, like senator for the ACT David Pocock.

Senator Pocock is worried the bill is too massive to be rushed through without going before before a parliamentary committee.