Queensland's IR Minister Grace Grace today vowed to "drive out (the) cheaters and rorters" in the labour hire industry with the introduction of legislation requiring companies to hold annually-renewable licences.
Victoria's Andrews Government says it will legislate for a state-based labour hire licensing scheme that might not be limited to the three sectors recommended by last year's labour hire inquiry, while it will push Canberra to establish a national scheme.
Queensland's Palaszczuk Labor Government will introduce legislation this month to mandate the licensing of labour hire companies from next year, setting the pace for other Labor states such as Victoria and South Australia.
Carlton & United Breweries and the ETU in submissions to a Senate inquiry have provided conflicting accounts of last year's dispute over the use of labour hire employees at the company's Abbotsford brewery.
A court has found that a driver engaged as a casual under a labour hire arrangement is an employee who is entitled to annual leave payments under the Fair Work Act.
The FWC has found a roof tiler is an employee who can make an unfair dismissal claim, ruling his employer created an independent contracting "façade" to suit its own purposes and avoid paying his entitlements.
The chair of Victoria's labour hire inquiry has asked police to consider investigating one of the state's leading poultry producers for advising an employee that his job was in jeopardy if he continued to make "unsubstantiated" allegations about the company.
Victoria's Andrews Government has today committed to introducing a labour hire licensing scheme, after the Forsyth inquiry recommended such a regime for labour suppliers to the horticulture, meat and cleaning industries.
