IR Minister Christian Porter says that talks will soon start with employers and unions to work through the complex legal and workplace safety issues surrounding the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
An ABC makeup artist who claims her Lyme disease makes it unsafe to wear an anti-coronavirus mask and wants to instead don a shield is suing the broadcaster for discriminatory adverse action after it allegedly removed her from its roster.
The FWC has found employers are not obliged to keep workers on the payroll because of JobKeeper's availability, but has awarded a manager compensation for unfair dismissal that included 24 weeks of the job subsidy, because retaining him would have been "entirely consistent" with the scheme's objectives.
If the FWC incorporates loaded rates in hospitality and retail awards after a referral from IR Minister Christian Porter, it is likely to involve a range of such rates rather than a single one, the tribunal's president indicated in a statement today.
Griffith University's Professor David Peetz has warned employers to consult their workers before implementing post-COVID-19 workplace changes or risk turning "disorder into chaos", ahead of today's repeal of NSW public health orders requiring organisations to allow employees to perform their duties from home.
The underpayment of migrant workers significantly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a large Unions NSW audit revealing 88% of a sample of foreign language job ads in the state offered below award wages.
FWC President Iain Ross has agreed to consider IR Minister Christian Porter's request that he insert loaded rates into awards for "distressed" industries and will convene initial conferences next week.
A leading international IR academic has called for optimism and political courage to forge a new post-pandemic social contract designed to build more productive and resilient economies while rebuilding worker trust and making workplaces more inclusive.
Working from home is here to stay and will be "more effective for all" if it is supported by formal policies, hours are "relatively fixed hours" and it is voluntary, according to one of two university studies commissioned by the FWC as it considers inserting a WFH clause in the clerks award.
The ANMF has welcomed a Victorian Government plan for an Australian-first scheme to introduce nurse/carer to resident ratios in private sector aged care, calling for it to be adopted in other states and territories.
