The FWC has panned rail operator Qube for "reneging" on an in-principle enterprise deal with the RTBU, after rejecting the union's bid to terminate industrial action that allegedly presented a threat to community safety and welfare.
The FWC has made it clear that Svitzer's planned national lockout at noon tomorrow now won't proceed, but it will decide tomorrow whether to suspend or terminate the protected action.
A FWC full bench will tomorrow consider whether to terminate or suspend tugboat operator Svitzer's planned indefinite national lockout on Friday, after the company told Vice President Adam Hatcher it is not prepared to delay it and does not believe conciliation will help.
Towage company Svitzer is set to lock out its harbour tugboat workforce, claiming it has been forced into it by continuing disruptive protected action by three maritime unions.
The FWC has expanded on its reasons for rejecting an employer's request to terminate its own lock-out of workers so they could no longer take threatened industrial action, describing the "highly unusual" s424 application as inconsistent with the Fair Work Act's bargaining objectives.
A major plastics manufacturer has this morning applied for the FWC to halt protected action at a plant in Melbourne, where the AWU says the only current action is the employer's lockout of its members.
Influential CFMMEU leader John Setka has flagged taking a "reasonable" approach to the next major bargaining round after the expected abolition of the ABCC, expressing hope that any significant industrial action can be avoided as members seek to keep pace with inflation.
The Productivity Commission says the workplace tribunal should have a "fast-track process" for early involvement in industrial disputes on the docks, while waterfront employers should have more options for taking their own protected action beyond lockouts.
Unions and Shell Australia have signed off on an in-principle agreement after a bitter campaign that resulted in the world's largest floating LNG platform being shuttered last month amid continuing protected strike action.