As ROC staff await their transfer to the FWC, the watchdog has found that a former AEU ACT branch secretary did not improperly use his position, while it is also pursuing the AWU and a CFMMEU mining and energy division Queensland district leader in the Federal Court.
The Victorian Supreme Court has fined a former labour hire company and its director almost half a million dollars for failing to disclose that he had criminal convictions for offences including drug trafficking and theft.
A court has fined the director of a Japanese restaurant almost $25,000 after finding that he "reverse engineered" pay records provided to the FWO and asked a shortchanged employee not to "sell me out".
The FWO has hit a new high in the cases it has taken to court, as it continues to target large corporates and adds universities to its priority list, according to the watchdog's annual report.
The ROC has found the IEU WA branch's former secretary appears to have benefited from spending union funds but has decided not to pursue the matter given the time, resources and cost it would require and the branch's desire to drop it.
The ROC has resolved to seek penalties against the AWU in the Federal Court, after an 18-month investigation concluded it had committed 27,000 breaches over nine years of obligations to keep accurate membership records and "significantly overstated" the real numbers.
A new report says that wage theft in Australian freight shipping is costing seafarers about $65 million a year and necessitates changes to the Fair Work Act and greater powers and cooperation for regulators.
A CFMMEU organiser who engaged in threatening and coercive conduct, including stopping a concrete pour, has failed to convince the FWC to renew his entry permit, despite presenting evidence that he had recently completed training on the error of his ways.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has initiated legal action against the University of Melbourne, alleging it coerced and took adverse action against two casual academics to stop them claiming payment for work they performed.
