Hardline employer-clientele law firm Seyfarth Shaw developed an aggressive bargaining strategy for Victoria's Country Fire Authority that aimed to replace a culture of UFU "veto and control" with "consultation and influence", documents published by the Senate reveal.
As the FWC calls for submissions on an employer bid to ditch the term "penalty rates" and replace it with "additional remuneration", a senior union-clientele lawyer is warning of a "slippery slope" if recognition of a need to compensate those working unsociable hours is removed.
The FWC has approved an agreement for 2,000 staffers for members of Federal Parliament, despite union claims it was not genuinely agreed because "voting irregularities" caused by the electronic voting system disenfranchised substantial numbers of workers.
The CPSU is ramping-up its campaign to break a bargaining deadlock at the Department of Human Services, with rolling stoppages set to start next week, but the department anticipates the effect of the union's action will be "minimal".
The timetable for having the Registered Organisations Commission up and running appears to have slipped, with a new target adopted for it to be in place by the end of June.
The FWC has asked the Turnbull Government to clarify whether it intends to amend the Fair Work Act to enable the tribunal to make take home pay orders to potentially mitigate hardship flowing from its decision to cut hospitality and retail workers' penalty rates, and is seeking further submissions on transitional arrangements.
The High Court today confirmed the Turnbull Government's loss of a crucial workplace legislation vote in the Upper House when it ruled that former Family First Senator Bob Day was ineligible to take his seat due to an indirect pecuniary interest.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has imposed the first-ever sanction under the national construction code against a builder, temporarily prohibiting J Hutchinson Pty Ltd from securing federal contracts, while the CFMEU has hardened its position against re-opening deals to make them compliant with the latest changes to the 2016 code.
