The ACTU has resisted employer arguments to delay any rise in minimum pay, while it has accepted that the annual wage review timetable should be amended to enable the expert panel to consider national accounts data that is likely to identify the early economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described his government's close consultation with the Opposition in drafting legislation to give effect to the JobKeeper coronavirus wage subsidy program that will be put to Parliament next week, while joining IR Minister Christian Porter in thanking unions for their cooperation in achieving "massive" temporary IR changes.
A full Federal Court has reproached a State employment tribunal member for his tardiness in determining appropriate penalties for an underpaying employer, suggesting that had no fine been imposed it might have been spared considering an unremarkable appeal involving "modest" sums.
The FWC has moved on its own initiative to introduce two weeks' unpaid "pandemic leave" for millions of award-covered workers, as the coronavirus crisis continues.
The CFMMEU has lost its challenge to Federal Court orders requiring liquidators of a labour hire company to distribute $1m that was held in a trust fund for members of the union.
The FWC says the first application to vary an enterprise agreement in response to the coronavirus will be heard by a full bench to determine whether the "exceptional circumstance" provisions apply.
A paramedic sacked for allegedly self-medicating with a pain relief drug while on duty will get another chance to push for reinstatement, with Queensland's Industrial Court upholding his challenge to a decision dismissing his application.
The FWC has expedited the hearing of the restaurant industry's bid to vary its award to boost hours and leave flexibility as it shifts to a COVID-19 business model based on takeaways and home delivery.
