The Abbott Government has presented its first tranche of changes to the Fair Work Act to Parliament today, including proposals to free up greenfields impasses, expand the subject matter of IFAs, wind back the ALP's right of entry changes and require bargaining before protected action.
The MUA and AMMA are accusing each other of shifting the goalposts in the drawn-out bargaining round for vessel operators in the offshore oil and gas industry, with the union to begin a 48-hour stoppage at pacesetting Tidewater Marine on Friday.
The union covering Hunter Valley coal haulage drivers who are planning to strike next week is ignoring BHP Billiton threats of potential third party legal action and will instead today write to the mining giant to seek its support in resolving the dispute with rail operator Aurizon.
The FWBC is individually prosecuting more than 75 building workers for breaches committed when they allegedly participated in a strike in February last year at Perth's children's hospital construction site.
In a split decision, a Federal Court full court has held that the Fair Work Commission can grant an extension to the 30-day time limit for taking protected industrial action even where the application is made after that period has expired.
The Federal Court has ordered the CFMEU (construction and general division) and WA branch assistant secretary Joe McDonald to pay a total of $193,600 for their part in an unlawful stopwork at a Pilbara site.
The Coalition has largely succeeded in neutralising IR as a 2013 federal election issue by promising to retain – at least for one term – Labor's Fair Work framework, but Australia's two major parties are still going to the September 7 poll with some significant policy differences, including on paid parental leave, right of entry, and construction industry regulation. Workplace Express compares their IR policies and those of the Greens, whose future hold on the Senate balance of power is uncertain.
The Federal Court has found that BHP Coal took unlawful adverse action when it sacked two CFMEU officials for allegedly harassing and bullying a mine worker who had resigned from the union, holding the claims against them weren't made out and the company's actions were "inexplicably harsh".
Fair Work Building and Construction chief executive Leigh Johns has challenged those who say the inspectorate should have intervened in the Grocon Supreme Court proceedings to identify the powers it could have relied upon, while the main players are about to head back for more talks with FWA President, Justice Iain Ross.