Ahead of its appearance today before the Senate inquiry into the Omnibus IR Bill, the Centre for Future Work has warned that as Australia experiences an unprecedented period of low pay growth, the legislation's changes "will exert additional downward pressure".
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is set to promise to legislate job security as a key objective of the Fair Work Act, along with empowering the FWC to set minimum standards for gig workers.
In a significant decision on FWC powers, a full bench has found the tribunal could not force a labour hire company to reinstate a worker to his former job at client Carlton United Breweries, given the beer giant was contractually entitled to order his removal.
The FWC has upbraided construction company Hansen Yuncken for its "callous" and unfair sacking of a "naïve" trainee who nonetheless provided it with a valid reason by insisting on indefinite unpaid leave to avoid lengthy public transport commutes during COVID-19.
A court has ruled that an employee's questions about his pay and conditions amounted to an "inquiry" that provided a foundation for his general protections claim.
A former HSU NSW branch organiser is suing the union for more than $900,000 in an adverse action case in which she claims to have been sacked because of her age and bullying complaints against her manager.
Observing that "you can only 'lead a horse to water' so many times", the FWC has after nearly a year dismissed what it described as a former university employee's largely incompetent unlawful dismissal claim.
An HR manager is suing a biotechnology company for humiliating high-rotation desk moves and allegedly hiring a superior for her to report to as a "contrivance" to make her role redundant after she raised pandemic-related OHS and JobKeeper issues.