A former AWU Victorian branch organiser has denied responsibility for a side deal with a cleaning company to pay an annual $25,000 "service fee" to the union while casual employees missed out on penalty rates.
The construction firm Downer EDI paid $25,000 to help end a "community picket" of a heliport being used to fly workers to a Bass Strait gas project, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
The AWU's Victorian branch received money for running training sessions for employers which was recorded in its accounts as membership dues, the Heydon Royal Commission has heard.
The ACTU’s Congress has today endorsed a three-year, $13 million political campaign strategy will use unexploited seams of “gold” data held by unions, combined with boots on the ground in 35 marginal seats.
The Heydon Royal Commission has today asked for further submissions on the introduction of US-style anti-racketeering laws "to combat unlawful activities" in the construction industry, while noting it would constitute "a significant step requiring detailed and careful consideration".
The FSU's national executive "intervened" to stymie national secretary Fiona Jordan's plan to engage an external investigator to examine a senior industrial officer's bullying complaint against assistant national secretary Geoff Derrick, a FWC decision has revealed.
The Heydon Royal Commission will next week issue a discussion paper that will canvass whether penalties for union officials who breach their duties should be brought into line with those for company directors under the Corporations Act.
Former NSW ETU leader Bernie Rordan says he was warned that litigation by a fellow union secretary could prevent his appointment to the Fair Work Commission in 2012.
The NSW ETU loaned $500,000 to the state ALP in late 2010 without getting approval from the union's state council, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
FWC Commissioner Bernie Riordan and lawyer Bob Whyburn are among the witnesses the Heydon Royal Commission has called for its inquiry into the ETU's NSW branch, with hearings beginning Monday.
