It's the labour movement equivalent of the corporate skunkworks: a new union within the Australian Workers Union that doesn't look anything like its distinctly un-hip parent.
The AWU kicks off its biennial conference today, with new national secretary Daniel Walton seeking to revive falling membership and protect jobs in key industry segments rather than pursue mergers with other unions. Meanwhile, the FWC has been questioning the "integrity" of the union’s reported membership numbers for the five years to 2014.
A full Federal Court has thwarted ResMed's latest challenge to the AMWU's ability to organise workers at the company's Sydney headquarters, rejecting the high-tech manufacturer's claims that changes to the union's rules could not be agreed on by a postal vote.
Former Seven West Media executive assistant Amber Harrison, whose affair with chief executive Tim Worner has seen the company in damage control for the past two months, was warned off talking to any trade union representatives about the circumstances of her departure as part of a deed agreed between the parties on her exit.
The Federal Court has imposed $1,000 individual penalties on 19 workers who stymied a concrete pour when they unlawfully walked off a Perth construction site.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered BlueScope Steel to consult with a group of maintenance workers at its Port Kembla steelworks, after finding it failed to comply with the terms of a landmark 2015 enterprise agreement that reduced wages and reformed work practices to keep the plant open.
The FWC has ordered Australia Post to allow Employment Minister Michaelia Cash to inspect the report of a confidential investigation into an employee's allegations against former CEPU leader Jim Metcher, after rejecting claims the document is privileged.
The Commonwealth Bank has pledged to meet any shortfall in superannuation obligations owed to thousands of part-time workers, after being queried by the FSU.
The FWC will allow the ABCC to include material the CFMEU claims is prejudicial in its application to axe the entry permits of three officials who allegedly abused their rights when they visited Lend Lease sites in 2014.