The South Australian branch of the AWU has refused to participate in a hearing into a major grain company's successful agreement termination bid, telling the FWC it has "no confidence" in a legal process for employer terminations that unfairly bolsters their bargaining position.
A review of the 2015 amendments to the Fair Work Act's greenfields agreements provisions has rejected union pleas to axe "last offer" arbitration - despite a failure by employers to utilise it - and has recommended reducing from six months to three the "negotiating period" before the FWC can break deadlocks.
The Fair Work Commission says its failure to meet timeliness targets for agreement approvals is partly due to the delay in passage of the Turnbull Government's legislation that would enable it to overlook minor or technical flaws in proposed deals.
The Turnbull Government has blasted a major builder that negotiated a precedent-setting enterprise agreement with the CFMEU as being "highly unrepresentative" of the construction industry, describing the deal as an act of "commercial self-harm".
The FAAA says it is delighted with a new deal endorsed by more than 90% of voting Qantas international flight attendants, but the TWU has slammed it for perpetuating a two-tiered system that pays some cabin crew less than half the money for performing the same work.
Workers at spice giant McCormick Foods are commencing rolling strikes today as a call for a consumer boycott of iconic products such as Aeroplane Jelly and Keen's Mustard gains traction on social media.
The Turnbull Government has accused ABC management of breaching the public sector bargaining policy, expressing "utmost concern" after a new enterprise agreement covering 5000 employees was voted up this week.
The AWU has accused the FWBC and a heavy equipment supplier of using the national construction code as a "Trojan horse" to cut pay and condition of workers outside the building industry.
The TWU is calling on a Qantas ground handling subsidiary to provide a more regular pattern of hours and a minimum 30 hour engagement for its employees.
Esso Australia has applied to terminate two important enterprise agreements at its Bass Strait oil and gas operations, becoming the latest big employer to use what one union has dubbed the "sledgehammer approach" to break a bargaining deadlock.