The Fair Work Commission has blocked an attempt by 83 employees of an oil and gas refinery at Geelong from resigning en masse as members of an in-house Fire Auxiliary Team in a disagreement over safety and training.
A review of the 2015 amendments to the Fair Work Act's greenfields agreements provisions has rejected union pleas to axe "last offer" arbitration - despite a failure by employers to utilise it - and has recommended reducing from six months to three the "negotiating period" before the FWC can break deadlocks.
The ACTU's policy pitch for the next election will include the right for casual workers to convert to permanent after six months, equal rights for workers in the gig economy and a overhaul of labour hire regulation.
The Federal Court has agreed to delay the trial of the AWU's bid to block the Registered Organisation Commission investigation that led to police raids on the union's offices last year.
Employer groups have failed in their bid to delay the March 27 CFMEU-MUA-TCFU amalgamation, but have taken solace from a senior FWC member's observation that their April 9 appeal to an FWC full bench "surmounts the fairly low bar of being arguable".
In a decision where the employer's case was embarrassingly "scuttled" by its own witness, a senior FWC member has found that Ausgrid failed to inform four safety specialists during job interviews that they wouldn't be receiving an allowance due to them under the relevant agreement.
In a significant decision on multi-hiring arrangements, a court has ruled that an Australia Post employee holding two "separate and distinct" part-time positions could not base overtime and other entitlements on combined hours.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has called for ASIC-style powers to ask a court to disqualify "repeat offenders" from running companies and avoiding backpay and penalties through phoenix company activity.
The CFMEU has successfully challenged a conditional permit issued to one of its NSW organisers, with an FWC full bench reinstating a full permit on the basis that undertakings will have the same effect.
An FWO report released hot on the heels of Caltex's announcement that it will exit franchising has revealed non-compliance at 76% of audited sites and accuses the oil giant of contributing to breaches by failing to put effective systems in place, despite warnings.
