The FWC has employed the "quacks like a duck" test and legendary Melbourne Cup winner Phar Lap to reject an online pharmacy's argument that those filling orders in its distribution centre were ineligible for NUW representation because they were engaged in retail tasks rather than "warehousing".
BlueScope Steel has denied having made the decision to shut its Port Kembla steelworks, but has confirmed it is seeking major cost reductions through current enterprise bargaining negotiations.
The AWU expects employees at Esso Australia's Bass Strait oil operations to reject the company's proposed new enterprise agreements, which include shifting from seven-day to 14-day roster cycles for offshore workers.
The AWU is seeking to terminate a substandard cleaning agreement exposed in the Heydon Royal Commission, while former Victorian branch secretary Cesar Melhem has stepped down as Labor whip in Victoria's upper house, after the inquiry criticised workplace deals struck during his leadership.
The major rail freight operator Aurizon has broken a bargaining deadlock with rail unions at its Queensland coal-hauling operations, where negotiations started more than two years ago.
A former AWU Victorian branch organiser has denied responsibility for a side deal with a cleaning company to pay an annual $25,000 "service fee" to the union while casual employees missed out on penalty rates.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James told a parliamentary committee today that her organisation is offering its workforce a pay rise of 1.25% over the next 12 months and 1% for each of the next two years, plus a 0.25% "unscheduled absence bonus" in the first year if sick leave can be reduced.
The Fair Work Commissioner has issued an order to halt "a campaign of covert industrial action" by wharfies that could cause Patrick Stevedores "significant disruption and financial imposts".
In one of the last wages and entitlements cases pursued by the FWBC, a building subcontractor that used a labour-hire company to distance itself from it employment obligations has been fined $145,000 and ordered to backpay $150,000 to more than a dozen workers.
The AWU's Victorian branch received up to $25,000 a year from a Spotless Group subsidiary under a memorandum of understanding that meant cleaners were not paid penalty rates, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
