In the Cabinet of Georgeland, the Minister for Commerce, Workplace Relations and Employment is the minister responsible for national employment policy, industrial disputes and arbitration, workers' compensation schemes, consumer affairs and co-ordination of government employment agencies.
As with many ministerial titles, the exact title of the minister, and the responsible department, has varied over time. The position of Minister for Industry and Labour was first created in 1925 and held by Eric Jones. The labour relations component of the portfolio was separated out and a new Department of Reconstruction and Labour created in 1938. In 1950 the labour portfolio was combined with commerce, and renamed to Employment and Labour in 1970. It became the Department of Employment in 1975 and Industrial Relations, Employment and Skills in 1991. From time to time it has been combined with the Business portfolio as well.
The current minister is the Hon. Toby Semmell MP, of the Georgeland Alliance. He was appointed to the position on 1 July 2019.
| No. | Minister | Title | Party | Term began | Term ended | Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Jones | Minister for Industry & Labour | Labour | 12 Dec 1925 | 18 Apr 1928 | Oscar Lyne |
| 2 | Gordon Knight | Minister for Industry & Labour | Conservative | 18 Apr 1928 | 6 Oct 1932 | Frederick Eccles |
| 3 | Henry Marron | Minister for Industry & Labour | Conservative | 6 Oct 1932 | 24 Apr 1937 | James Gray |
| 4 | Albert Meyers | Minister for Industry & Labour | Conservative | 24 Apr 1937 | 17 Jun 1938 | Bertram Powell |
| 5 | Stuart McLeith | Minister for Reconstruction & Labour | Labour | 17 Jul 1942 | 10 Aug 1945 | Fenton Thomas |
| 6 | Nathan Keegan | Minister for Reconstruction & Labour | Labour | 10 Aug 1945 | 14 May 1948 | Fenton Thomas |
| 7 | Gordon Rainer | Minister for Reconstruction & Labour | Labour | 14 May 1948 | 18 Aug 1949 | Nathan Keegan |
| 8 | George McLeay | Minister for Labour | Labour | 18 Aug 1949 | 19 Jun 1950 | Nathan Keegan |
| 9 | Jack Grady | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Conservative | 19 Jun 1950 | 7 May 1954 | Bradford Smith |
| 10 | Jack Burley | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Labour | 7 May 1954 | 7 Jul 1958 | Nathan Keegan |
| 11 | Thomas Richardson | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Conservative | 7 Jul 1958 | 16 May 1962 | Stanley Baynes |
| 12 | George Prentice | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Conservative | 16 May 1962 | 14 Jan 1969 | Stanley Baynes
Thomas Hunter Zachary Tamworth Thomas Richardson |
| 13 | Robert Fisch | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Conservative | 14 Jan 1969 | 12 May 1969 | Thomas Richardson |
| 14 | Malcolm Clunes | Minister for Commerce & Labour | Conservative | 12 May 1969 | 9 Sep 1970 | Thomas Richardson |
| 15 | Maurice Benson | Minister for Employment & Labour | Labour | 9 Sep 1970 | 19 Jun 1973 | Victor Howard |
| 16 | Michael Rexford | Minister for Employment & Labour | Labour | 19 Jun 1973 | 11 May 1975 | Bradley Van Goen |
| 17 | Kenneth Blake | Minister for Employment | Labour | 11 May 1975 | 23 Aug 1978 | Bradley Van Goen
Noel Quarton |
| 18 | Harry McMinn | Minister for Employment | Labour | 23 Aug 1978 | 23 Jul 1979 | Noel Quarton |
| 19 | Frank Jessup | Minister for Employment | Labour | 23 Jul 1979 | 4 Nov 1979 | Noel Quarton |
| 20 | John Ryan | Minister for Employment | Conservative | 4 Nov 1979 | 10 Jul 1981 | Robert Fisch |
| 21 | Shawn Hedges | Minister for Employment | Conservative | 10 Jul 1981 | 19 Dec 1983 | Robert Fisch |
| 22 | Wendy Rogers | Minister for Employment
Minister for Women's Affairs |
Labour | 19 Dec 1983 | 28 Dec 1987 | Noel Quarton |
| 23 | John Saunderson | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations
Minister for Industrial Relations, Employment & Skills |
Labour | 28 Dec 1987
10 May 1991 |
10 May 1991
10 Nov 1993 |
Noel Quarton |
| 24 | Peter Bennett | Minister for Industrial Relations,
Employment & Skills |
Labour | 10 Nov 1993 | 17 Feb 1995 | Noel Quarton |
| 25 | Eric Pappas | Minister for Industrial Relations,
Employment & Business |
Conservative | 17 Feb 1995 | 11 Oct 1995 | Eric Edge |
| 26 | Peter Brothers | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations | Democratic | 11 Oct 1995 | 24 Jun 1998 | Charlton Robards |
| 27 | Joe Willis | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations | Democratic | 24 Jun 1998 | 14 May 1999 | Charlton Robards |
| 28 | Martin Higgins | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations | Conservative | 14 May 1999 | 9 Jun 1999 | Michael Fisch |
| 29 | Lawrence Porter | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations | Liberal | 9 Jun 1999 | 14 Oct 2002 | Charlton Robards
Michael Elderton Charlton Robards |
| 30 | Alan Swan | Minister for Employment & Industrial Relations | Liberal
LIberal Democrat |
14 Oct 2002 | 6 Aug 2007 | Charlton Robards |
| 31 | Mary Byrne | Minister for Workplace Relations | Conservative | 6 Aug 2007 | 13 Aug 2010 | Luke Macaulay |
| 32 | David Keeler | Minister for Employment &
Workplace Relations |
Liberal Democrat | 13 Aug 2010 | 2 Aug 2015 | Lawrence Porter |
| 33 | Russell Wong | Minister for Employment & Business | Liberal Democrat | 2 Aug 2015 | 15 Aug 2016 | Deborah Robards |
| 34 | Linda Dunne | Minister for Employment & Business | Liberal Democrat | 15 Aug 2016 | 24 Jan 2019 | Deborah Robards |
| 35 | Sharon Healy | Minister for Employment & Business | Liberal Democrat | 24 Jan 2019 | 1 Jul 2019 | Clare Price |
| 36 | Toby Semmell | Minister for Commerce, Workplace Relations
and Employment |
Georgeland Alliance | 1 Jul 2019 | Incumbent | Tom Elderton |