The Heydon Royal Commission will next week issue a discussion paper that will canvass whether penalties for union officials who breach their duties should be brought into line with those for company directors under the Corporations Act.
The Fair Work Commission's inquiry into the HSU's recent troubles with entry permit applications, first aired in the Heydon Royal Commission, is nearing its conclusion.
A leading silk has told a gathering of major employers that the federal government should adopt the Harper competition review's recommendation to outlaw agreement clauses that limit employers' use of contractors and labour hire employees.
Former NSW ETU leader Bernie Rordan says he was warned that litigation by a fellow union secretary could prevent his appointment to the Fair Work Commission in 2012.
The Productivity Commission will look at the effect on skilled immigration numbers of making payment, rather than skills or family reunion, the primary basis for determining entry into the Australia during its wide-ranging immigration review.
The Australian Shipowners Association has told the Productivity Commission that it is important to understand that the starting point for the bargaining changes it is seeking is the "disproportionate industrial power" wielded by the maritime unions.
The NSW ETU loaned $500,000 to the state ALP in late 2010 without getting approval from the union's state council, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
FWC Commissioner Bernie Riordan and lawyer Bob Whyburn are among the witnesses the Heydon Royal Commission has called for its inquiry into the ETU's NSW branch, with hearings beginning Monday.
The peak body for the hydrocarbons sector is pushing to extend to an unprecedented six years the terms of agreements made for the construction phase of major projects.
