A Federal Court majority has slashed by more than 65% penalties imposed on a government-owned organisation for breaching agreement obligations, finding them "manifestly excessive".
The NSW Perrottet Coalition Government is blaming a union-negotiated staffing agreement for hampering its ability to offer permanency to temporary teachers, as both it and NSW Labor promise to convert 10,000 to permanent roles.
In a detailed examination of a major government department's early response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Court has rejected union claims that a hastily-conceived working from home policy breached existing arrangements and consultation requirements.
RAFFWU says that despite initially challenging the approval of an independent bookseller's agreement, it will be celebrating the result for members set to benefit from a "far superior" wage structure and some of the strongest conditions in retail.
The Productivity Commission has warned against "shoehorning" gig economy platform work into other employment categories, arguing it could jeopardise their benefits for consumers and workers.
The FWC has resisted union objections to approval of a coal mining deal, accepting an undertaking that the employer would convert a "significant majority" of casual workers to full-time if it wins a tender at a BHP subsidiary.
The FWC has refused to issue interim orders stopping Yarra Trams from introducing an overhauled rostering system that was months in the making and designed to accommodate the Spring Racing Carnival, while complying with stricter fatigue management rules.
The Albanese Government will deliver a 3% interim pay rise to federal public servants while it tackles "complex" bargaining reforms to facilitate service-wide negotiations, after they weathered a 2% cap, WPI-linked increases and a freeze under the Morrison Government.
Influential CFMMEU leader John Setka has flagged taking a "reasonable" approach to the next major bargaining round after the expected abolition of the ABCC, expressing hope that any significant industrial action can be avoided as members seek to keep pace with inflation.
The CFMMEU's mining division has asked the FWC to intervene after almost two years of fruitless bargaining for enterprise agreements covering internal labour hire companies run by BHP's Operations Services.
