The CFMEU is looking for a strong turnout in the ballots of MUA and TCFU members on their proposed three-way merger and a rapid conclusion of FWC proceedings to formalise the amalgamation, as the Turnbull Government and employer groups seek to block it.
In a decision signalling potential judicial pushback against so-called "sham" agreements, a Federal Court has quashed a two-year-old deal approved by three employees that now covers more than 1000 mining services workers, ruling that the employer made inadequate efforts to explain a document benchmarked against 11 different awards.
The Turnbull Government has listed two contested IR Bills for the debate in the Senate next week, setting it at odds with union calls to hold back controversial legislation until the citizenship status of MPs is clarified.
The giant miner Glencore has extended the lockout of about 190 workers at its Oaky North coal mine in Queensland for another two weeks, to 132 days. Meanwhile, the union that represents the mineworkers has a new general secretary.
Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross says the tribunal will investigate establishing "administrative hubs" in suburban centres in order to improve access and reduce costs for the parties.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is pushing for the NUW to pay $800,000 in damages to retailer Woolworths over alleged unlawful industrial action in 2015 at two distribution centres in Melbourne.
ACTU leader Sally McManus is set to begin campaigning for major changes to minimum wage-setting, including tying it to a proportion of the median wage, along the lines of the UK's model.
The ABCC has reviewed its legal expenditure after an "overspend" in the past financial year that included a blowout to almost $11 million in billings for external advice, representing about a third of its $34 million budget.
