A proposal by Queensland's Palaszczuk Labor Government to remove gendered language from parental leave entitlements is the beginning of the end of "women" as a protected class at law and risks making mothers invisible, according to submissions on its IR Bill.
The Queensland Government appears to be continuing the rollout of its revised public sector wages policy, reaching an in-principle deal with the State's teachers that will deliver 11% in pay rises over three years, plus "cost of living top-up payments" of up to 3% a year.
A full Federal Court has extended the recent run of legal setbacks for casual workers, overturning a ruling that a mineworker should be paid a 25% loading on Fair Entitlements Guarantee payments after the labour hire company he worked for entered administration.
A full Federal Court has knocked back a traffic management company's attempt to overturn the FWC's rejection of a proposed non-union deal and has given it a clip around the ears for the way it ran the case.
RAFFWU says it is seeking to replicate a Sydney bookstore deal that it describes as the "most significant" retail agreement in Australia, the FWC approving it this week after the employer had a second shot at explaining it to members.
The FWC has this week approved a new agreement for the Australia Council of Social Service that lifts pay by the 4.6% rise in award minimum rates, provides new paid cultural and First Nations leave and enables employees to take a substitute public holiday for the January 26 "Invasion Day".
A proposed new agreement for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition provides substantial upfront pay rises and entitlements to five days paid climate disaster leave, 30 days paid gender affirmation leave and 12% super contributions, while it replaces workplace breastfeeding provisions with "chestfeeding" rights.
IR Minister Tony Burke has outlined some of the entitlements he would like the FWC to include in the minimum conditions it prescribes for gig workers, while emphasising that it will be up to the tribunal to decide what's in and what's out, but a leading IR academic who developed a state labor government's blueprint for labour hire regulation says the new Government's approach will provide "a limited solution".
The FWC is set to pull the shutters down on what academics hailed as its "bold" decision to give more than four million award-covered workers access to unpaid leave and twice as much annual leave on half-pay in response to pandemic uncertainties.