A major employer has failed to apply the correct award in seeking approval for a new enterprise agreement covering two businesses, the FWC noting an HR manager involved in bargaining had "little to no knowledge" of the work performed by employees.
A subsidiary of an established mining services company has failed to convince the FWC not to hear from the CFMMEU on a deal covering eight workers at the time it was made, purportedly because the Fair Work Act intends for small business to enter into agreements "without hindrance".
The CFMMEU has been refused permission to appeal the approval of a labour hire company's deal on the basis the black coal award incorporated in the predecessor agreement did not allow for casual production and engineering workers, a majority FWC bench finding it possible the provision's absence was "simply overlooked" by the employer.
The FWC has for the second time thrown out a Sodexo offshore deal after hearing its HR manager and an employee involved in bargaining did not understand a swathe of significant changes, leaving "no confidence" it was properly explained to others.
The FWC has approved a new Big W deal but is yet to give reasons for rejecting RAFFWU's objections about job security representations and the retailer's announcement immediately after workers voted it up that it would close stores and change rosters.
A senior FWC member has expressed "no hesitancy" in departing from full bench authorities on whether undertakings can overcome genuine agreement concerns, approving a deal made with two train drivers that will cover an entire workforce on the Roy Hill Pilbara mine network.
The FWC has prevented a large employer from varying an agreement after its HR manager failed to fully address concerns the amendment could remove some employees from coverage without their knowledge.
In a significant decision on the scope of agreements, an FWC full bench has quashed the approval of a deal measured exclusively against the manufacturing award, despite coverage extending to cryogenic insulators and concreters.
RAFFWU has warned Kmart that it should back pay workers tens of millions of dollars in minimum award entitlements or risk a bid to terminate its expired deal, after the FWC rejected its latest agreement over a BOOT failure and an "intentional" exclusion during voting.