The Business Council applauds the government's temporary changes to workplace laws that will empower employers, workers and unions to work together to quickly adjust agreements to protect jobs and set Australia up for a strong recovery, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.
"We thank the Attorney-General for listening and acting on the concerns of our members. Governments, businesses and the union movement are working together with the shared goal of keeping Australians in work and setting the economy up for recovery.
"With borders closed, regular duties changing and normal business hours decreasing, employers need the maximum amount of flexibility to protect jobs, avoid retrenchments and strengthen the Australian economy.
"These common-sense, temporary changes will enable businesses to collaborate with unions and workers to keep people connected to their employers and save jobs.
"For thousands of workers, the changes will mean the difference between keeping their job or losing it because their employer was hamstrung by restrictive, time consuming processes to make necessary and reasonable changes.
"Crucially, this will give businesses the capacity to retain their workers and ease gradually back into production once the recovery begins.
"Large employers who aren't eligible to claim JobKeeper assistance for their workers will now have room to move and stay afloat. For some businesses this will be even more valuable than a wage subsidy.
"This is a welcome demonstration of the Morrison government's willingness to listen, respond and prioritise the urgent things needed to keep Australians working and connected to their workplaces throughout this crisis."
