New HREOC president attacks human rights bill for undermining Commission's independence; and termination, change and redundancy statement spells out duty of Queensland employers to genuinely consult, say unions.
In a major decision that will end uncertainty over the vexed "matters pertaining" issue, a full bench of the AIRC has departed from Atlas Steels and held that provisions in deals do not need to be considered and approved in isolation.
The Productivity Commission has floated the idea of imposing a "positive duty" on employers to identify and remedy barriers to employing people with disabilities, after finding the Disability Discrimination Act had failed to reduce discrimination in employment.
A court ruling last week confirms that the NSW IRC and Supreme Court have different views on whether a breach of contract case can be brought under the s106 unfair contract provisions of the State's IR Act.
The Democrats have thrown the Government a few small crumbs in their fairly open-ended response to three bills proposing a tougher IR law-enforcement regime, but seem largely unconvinced that major change is required.
The NSW Ombudsman has referred its investigation into the behaviour of former Anti-Discrimination Board head and Privacy Commissioner, Chris Puplick, to both ICAC and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The AIRC has ruled that employees' length of service for calculating redundancy entitlements includes periods where they are stood down, in a case involving Geelong Wool Combing workers who were locked out for five months.
The number of AWAs filed in WA has more than tripled in 2002-03 compared to the previous year, a rate of growth four times higher than the national average, according to the Office of the Employment Advocate's annual report.
The Federal Opposition has called today for good faith bargaining laws in the wake of yesterday's Sensis ruling by an AIRC full bench, while labour law academic Anthony Forsyth says the decision still leaves the Commission with considerable powers to make orders that have a similar effect.
The AIRC has today urged Forstaff and the AMWU to reach agreement on giving the union access to the company's Avalon airport premises, after a majority of workers voted this month to end the ALAEA's exclusive coverage of the site.
