As legislation establishing the Morrison Government's $1500 JobKeeper wage subsidy passed through Parliament without amendments last night, aviation unions and the ACTU are on several fronts challenging how Qantas intends to apply it.
A six-member FWC full bench has today made a coronavirus-driven change to 99 modern awards to temporarily give an estimated 4.4 million workers access to two weeks unpaid "pandemic leave" and enable them to take annual leave at half pay.
The Morrison Government's legislation for the $1500 JobKeeper payments, to about six million workers, which has now passed the lower house, is based on Federal Treasurer John Frydenberg setting rules to govern how the payments are made and administered.
The JobKeeper legislation gives qualifying employers the ability to make "JobKeeper-enabling directions" to stand down workers and change their duties and location.
Baiada workers have voted to accept the same deal they rejected a month ago, after the FWC dismissed a union bid for bargaining orders to return the chicken giant to COVID-affected negotiations.
The JobKeeper legislation will amend the Fair Work Act to enable qualifying employers to lawfully change workers' hours, duties, days and location, while empowering the FWC to adjudicate disputes, IR Minister Christian Porter said today.
In the first significant pandemic-related dispute over mass lay-offs to come before the FWC, the Federal Court's transcription service provider has been criticised for making "hollow" consultation promises and reminded to treat workers "with dignity in this time of crisis".
Federal Parliament is set to pass the Morrison Government's $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy tomorrow after changes agreed last night between IR Minister Christian Porter and ACTU secretary Sally McManus.
The FWC's minimum pay panel has extended the annual wage review timetable so it can factor the latest national accounts data into assessing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but is yet to decide whether "exceptional circumstances" warrant a delay in the operative date.