A new McKell Institute report recommends that the Morrison Government implement a national labour-hire licensing scheme, remove entry barriers to enable inspections by unions and redesign the visa system to curb widespread exploitation and wage theft in fruit-picking.
The NTEU is seeking to strengthen academic freedom clauses to protect university staff from "cancel culture" after a court found no legally enforceable right in measures relied on by sacked Sydney University lecturer Tim Anderson.
Multinational cosmetics company Lush has backpaid workers almost $4.5 million and entered into an enforceable undertaking with the FWO after the lack of an HR department and training, along with a moribund manual payroll system, led to widespread underpayments.
The FWO has won its first "serious contravention" penalties three years after the provisions were added to the Fair Work Act, a café and its former general manager fined a total of $230,000 on their second visit to court for underpaying workers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has made scant use of new powers it won three years ago to conduct compulsory interviews and to prosecute franchisors to help to protect vulnerable workers.
The FWC has ordered a labour hire company to reinstate a worker to his former job at Carlton United Breweries, despite summarily sacking him over a safety incident after the client demanded his permanent removal.
A 61-year-old former economics professor has been fined $31,000 for underpaying two visa holders employed at a Korean grocery, a court finding he deliberately arranged for them to receive as little as $10 an hour.
A major convenience chain operator slugged with almost $65,000 in penalties for the "brazen", "deliberate exploitation" of a console operator has hit back at a $70 million class action, denying claims and citing a lead applicant's alleged behavioural issues.
An accountancy firm that created and gave the FWO false records covering up a massage parlour's underpayments must pay more per breach than the family-run employer, which has been fined about 10% of the penalties sought by the workplace watchdog.
