A major civil construction company has launched a Federal Court challenge to the rejection by an FWC full bench of an agreement that it found would allow workers to be covered by future deals ahead of its nominal expiry date.
Labour hire company Spinifex Recruiting has again come under fire for its reliance on a "misnamed" temporary employment agreement, with an FWC full bench rejecting its argument that it did not dismiss a casual worker because its client merely exercised its discretion to terminate her assignment.
The FWC has held that a supervisor's demotion to a job "on the tools" with a 9% pay cut was in fact a dismissal, rejecting employer submissions that it was allowed under his contract or via a "notorious" unwritten term.
The FWC will set a week of hearings at the end of February to hear a RAFFWU bid to quash Woolworths' nominally-expired 2012 deal before a newly voted-up replacement is approved, with the retailer and the SDA saying they need time to consult the rest of the workforce.
Unions are continuing to embrace affirmative action measures to increase women's participation and ensure leadership reflects membership, the FWC this week approving ASU rule changes requiring a woman to hold at least one of three new leadership positions.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has begun the first proceedings using tougher new provisions relating to providing false and misleading documents during an investigation, Senate Estimates hearings have been told this week.
Unions NSW will in December argue before the High Court that that the "desired goal" of State restrictions on spending by third party campaigners is to deliberately create an uneven playing field by ensuring parties and candidates enjoy a "privileged position" in elections.
In a first glimpse of common fund orders that law firm Adero plans to seek in a suite of IR class actions, the Federal Court has given hundreds of current and former Airservices Australia managers until mid-December to opt out of an underpayments case or be bound by its payment terms.
The FWC has further clarified the circumstances in which the signatures of a majority of workers can compel an employer to bargain with a union, finding that inviting employees to add their names to a petition occasionally left in an unlocked car did not reduce its force.
The Jobs Department has told a Senate Estimates hearing that it met with labour hire company Workpac following the full Federal Court's crucial casual leave decision in Skene, but that it hasn't drafted a Bill to address the ruling.
