The FWC has taken the UWU to task over a "lack of willingness" to honour an agreement to stay in a designated area of a Woolworths distribution centre canteen after complaints from workers, rejecting assertions the union did not agree to continue the arrangement after a trial.
The FWC has renewed the entry permit of a NSW Teachers Federation industrial officer despite finding her continued use of an expired one "shows both organisational and personal failing".
In what is believed to be the first interlocutory injunction to provide union entry for discussion purposes, the Federal Court has ordered a project head contractor to permit ETU organisers to access labour hire linesworkers on a 900km, $2.2 billion interstate power transmission interconnector.
The Federal Court has today reversed a judge's finding that a CFMMEU organiser directed a "disgusting" homophobic slur towards a construction project's safety advisor, while it also axed a personal payment order against him.
The FWC has reinstituted a CFMMEU official's entry rights after more than five years, accepting that he had put his history of foul-mouthed contraventions behind him since being elected to a leadership role and making "lifestyle" changes to reduce stress.
The FWC has accepted the rehabilitation of a CFMMEU organiser penalised for a perceived racial slur, issuing him with an entry permit three years after he surrendered his previous one.
The Federal Court is continuing to order CFMMEU officials to pay penalties out of their own pockets, rejecting arguments that two first offenders and one organiser no longer employed by the union should have their fines suspended.
The FWC has rejected the FWO's forceful arguments against renewing a union organiser's entry permit after weighing his history of transgressions, doubts over whether he paid a court-ordered personal fine and evidence that training had better equipped him to avoid potential future breaches.
A leading IR academic says a Federal Court ruling that takes a restrictive view of union rights to enter workplaces for discussions is "deeply concerning" and demonstrates a need for Parliament to consider new amendments and provide better guidance on interpretation.
The ETU has confirmed that it will challenge a Federal Court ruling that "neuters" unions' rights to enter workplaces to organise workers through a restrictive interpretation of provisions allowing access for "discussions" with employees.