The Fair Work Commission, in a decision published today, says it suspended the MUA's protected industrial action at Patrick container terminals to allow further private negotiations to be assisted by presidential member Anna Booth.
The Fair Work Commission has today imposed a 35-day cooling-off period at Patrick's container terminals in four cities, halting strikes scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
Stevedore Patrick will tomorrow ask the FWC to impose a cooling-off period to stop MUA members taking further industrial action at its container ports.
Senior FWC member Anna Booth is today chairing negotiations between Hutchison Ports Australia and the MUA on a framework for a voluntary redundancy program the company will offer to employees in an enterprise deal that the parties have agreed to finalise by November 16.
FWC bench to hear bid to overturn Coles deal approval; Heydon not planning to recall Shorten, but Howes set to appear; Ballot gets the go-ahead despite employer objections; Queensland FIFO report recommends workforce, accommodation laws; High Court confirms role of hindsight in determining injury claims; and Employers, unions decry threats to freedom of association.
An employer has failed in a challenge to the validity of a protected action ballot that extended the voting period by 10 days, with the FWC finding the error was a "technical breach" that did not affect the result.
The FWC has granted the Independent Education Union an additional 30 days to coordinate protected industrial action across more than 170 Queensland Catholic schools, after rejecting an employer proposal to limit the period to just 14 days following school holidays.
The CPSU is encouraging ATO employees to vote 'no' to a revised agreement offer, while federal public servants gear up for strikes next week in what the union says will be the sector's biggest wave of industrial action in 30 years.
