Labor's centrepiece industrial relations laws have passed the parliament after hours of late-night debate.

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 brings about substantial changes that the government says will drive up wages. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the reforms a “victory” for workers and businesses.

“Today is a win for the heroes of the pandemic, the cleaners, the disability workers, the aged care workers, the early childhood educators,” Mr Albanese said.

“They got our thanks but they deserve more than that, they deserve better conditions and they deserve better pay.”

But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton alleged the bill had political motives, providing a “very significant return on the down payment the union movement has made to the Labor Party”.

“Every business group in the country is opposed to this bill,” Mr Dutton said.

The most controversial aspect of the bill has been the inclusion of multi-employer bargaining provisions. 

The laws will make it easier for unions to negotiate pay deals covering workers from multiple similar businesses, such as child, aged and disability care, where many separate employers have lots of employees doing similar work.

Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees are excluded from multi-employer deals, and there are some extra hurdles in including businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the deals too. 

All businesses with a current enterprise agreement negotiated between staff and their employer are also excluded.

Unions believe this may restart lapsed pay deals, as businesses seek to avoid being caught under incoming laws and forced into sector-wide bargaining.

Business groups are worried about the possible cost to business of negotiating such potentially complex deals, and about the potential for businesses to be roped into deals against their wishes.

Another, far less controversial, provision of the industrial relations bill is a new law that means employees can no longer be forced to keep their pay a secret.

Some employers force their staff to sign “pay secrecy clauses” that legally prevent employees from talking to colleagues and comparing how much they are paid. Pay secrecy leaves workers in the dark about how much they could potentially be earning, and puts them on the back foot in pay negotiations with their bosses. 

Employees can now decide if they want to share that information or not.

The new IR bill also seeks to secure the right to flexible working arrangements, preventing employers from unreasonably refusing requests from staff who are trying to balance their work and lifestyle. 

Employees now have the right to involve the Fair Work Commission and go through formal arbitration if their employer does not work with them on a solution. 

Additionally, the Albanese government’s bill seeks to reduce the number of people on fixed-term contracts, forcing employers to offer a maximum of two consecutive contracts or contracts that span two years - whichever of the two is shorter.

Labor hopes this will see more people put on permanent contracts and given the job security that comes with it.