A Tasmanian wood mill operator that stood down its workforce after this year's bushfires has established that even though its agreement requires workers to be paid for time lost due to such natural events, it does not have to pay them if it is because of bushfire-damaged machinery.
A large pharmaceutical company is obliged to convert labour hire workers to permanent positions after a year's continuous employment, the FWC ruling that the relevant agreement clause was a permitted matter because it promoted job security.
The FWC has made a bargaining order requiring Chemist Warehouse to delay a vote on a proposed enterprise agreement, as an indefinite strike continues at key warehouses in Victoria and Queensland.
Unregistered retail union RAFFWU has today questioned Woolworths' decision to display a bargaining notice on physical noticeboards rather than its electronic or "point of sale" systems, during an FWC hearing into its bid to quash the approval of a new deal and clear the way for a $1 billion backpay claim.
The FWC has halted the dismissal of an air traffic controller who in the space of two months assigned the wrong runway and "lost" separation of aircraft at Sydney Airport, finding that "questions of fact" around the employer's obligation to manage his performance needed to first be settled.
In a decision further clarifying the "minor procedural or technical errors" that can be overlooked in approving agreements, the FWC has rejected a deal capturing employees not contemplated at the time bargaining notices were issued, despite their subsequent involvement in voting it up.
A full Federal Court has upheld a finding that retailer Aldi issued invalid bargaining notices because it failed to strictly follow the mandatory content requirements when it replaced "employer" with "leader".
A university's decision to slash casual tutors' rates for online student support almost four years into an agreement has been endorsed by the FWC, despite the member observing that the deal's definition of tutorial harked back to his long-gone days at law school.
A senior FWC member has flagged a potential "revolution" in the way the tribunal assesses agreements should a full bench review being sought by IR Minister Kelly O'Dwyer find weight must be given to indirect as well as direct discriminatory terms.
Stevedore DP World will have to abandon its plan to end an income protection scheme for its container terminal workers from Friday, after the FWC ruled its agreement with the CFMMEU's MUA division does not permit "unilateral cessation".
