The AMWU and AWU have struck an agreement that will apply to the former Ansett engine maintenance facility in Melbourne, which is in the process of being purchased by a Qantas/Patrick joint venture.
AIRC reinstates worker despite incapacity to do job; Mining agreement negates right of entry provisions under award, says Commission; Queensland IRC finds dismissal of park ranger unfair despite firearm offences; and Genetic testing in workplace could lead to discrimination, says UK Trades Union Council.
Prime Minister John Howard has today promoted Minister for Ageing, Kevin Andrews, to the Workplace Relations portfolio and moved the incumbent, Tony Abbott, to Health.
Queensland employers with employees who are breastfeeding should consider providing special facilities, or face the prospect of a discrimination claim, following changes to anti-discrimination laws that took effect six months ago, according to the State's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.
The CFMEU (construction & general division) in Victoria has notified Grocon that bans and limitations will begin on the MCG redevelopment project on Tuesday, just after the weekend AFL football final.
The Howard Government's IR agenda has shifted during its third term, with an acceptance of third party intervention, re-regulation replacing deregulation, a move away from states' rights and an intensified, Thatcher-style, attack on union power, according to a leading labour lawyer.
Queensland IR Minister Gordon Nuttall has floated the idea of abandoning enterprise bargaining in the public sector and introducing an Accord-style partnership between the Government and unions.
In a major decision that brings thousands of short-term casuals within the reach of federal unfair dismissal laws, a full bench of the AIRC has departed from authority and held that a waitress doing regular and systematic work but with less than a year's service could make an unfair dismissal claim.
The long-running IR battle at Anglo Coal's Moranbah North coal mine in Queensland continues this week, with mineworkers taking further industrial action in pursuit of an enterprise agreement after the company failed recently to have the bargaining periods covering the site suspended or terminated.
Queensland unions appeal exemption from minimum wage; Victorian lawyers investigate fast food industry; Fulltime employees stay longer, ABS; More employers using performance hurdles to curb executive pay; QIRC approves ambulance service award variation; and Ferro fails to adopt AIRC recommendations, says APESMA.
