The CFMMEU has failed in an interlocutory court bid to enter tunnelling sites at Brisbane's $5 billion Cross River Rail Project, in the midst of a demarcation dispute with the AWU.
A FWC member has sailed past a union lawyer's caution not to interfere in the wording of a proposed strike ballot, finding that an "ambiguous" question should be deleted to avoid perplexing employees voting on it.
The FWC has rejected a chicken processor's argument that it should extend notice of the AMWU's proposed 12-hour maintenance strikes from three to seven days to ensure it doesn't breach RSPCA animal welfare guidelines and legislated standards, but has criticised the union for the "commercial unreality" of its suggestions about the defensive measures the company might undertake.
The FWC has refused to renew the entry permit of a CFMMEU construction division organiser it previously directed to undertake "emotional management" training, finding his role in an unlawful 2018 strike showed promises to reform when elected WA branch president did not play out.
A Federal Court judge has set a limit on the construction watchdog's use of anti-picketing laws to bring unions to heel, observing that "while picketing involves obstruction, not every obstruction is a picket".
McCain Foods acted "pre-emptively" when it locked out workers at a Tasmanian potato processing plant before they embarked on protected action, the Fair Work Commission heard today.
In a decision that has piqued the interest of local unions, a US National Labor Relations Board majority has upheld a ruling that deploying a giant "Scabby the Rat" near neutral employers did not amount to an illegal secondary boycott.
The Federal Court has reined in fines sought against a union official after accepting he organised a building site stopwork and unlawfully requested strike pay out of "guilt" for telling workers they wouldn't get in trouble for attending a "Change The Rules" rally.
An FWC full bench has called for the Commission to win stronger powers to curb "serial litigation", after it awarded indemnity costs against a worker who sought to overturn a failed four-year-old reclassification ruling.
The FWC has rebuffed Wesfarmers subsidiary Officeworks' request that it be represented by law firm Freehills in a dispute with the SDA and has suggested, based on correspondence from the company, that its head of HR, Heidi Dorman, should appear.
