Reducing penalty rates, increasing rostering flexibility and boosting the ability of employers to make agreements directly with employees are at the top of employer groups' IR wishlists for the July 2 federal election.
FWC's interest-based dispute resolution approach reaches new stage; Shorten Government would intervene in penalties case; Visa cases now the lion's share of FWO prosecutions; Budget Estimates hearings brought forward; Labor bid to disallow regulation postponed to Wednesday; and Slaters wins new finance deal.
The NTEU has called on the UniSuper industry superannuation fund's chief executive officer, to withdraw his public statement opposing Labor's planned $53M royal commission into the finance sector.
The Turnbull Government will take its response to the Productivity Commission inquiry into overhauling the IR system to the federal election on July 2.
Employers are likely to maintain their own paid parental leave schemes even if the Abbott Government's proposed Bill to prevent so-called parent "double-dipping" into government and employer-funded schemes becomes law, according to a key employer group.
Royal Commissioner Dyson Heydon has rejected union applications for him to stand down from the inquiry on the grounds of apprehended bias, while acknowledging they could still apply to a court to make such a ruling.
The Queensland Labor Government has earmarked the IR reforms it took to the recent state election as a legislative priority and announced a wide-ranging review of the state's IR system by an employer-free panel.
NSW Labor will introduce new protections for women who are pregnant or on family-related leave, regulate employee surveillance outside of work, and reverse many of the Coalition's changes to public sector employment if elected on March 28.
Honouring one of its election commitments, the Victorian Labor Government will today introduce legislation to abolish the former Coalition Government's anti-picketing laws.
In a move that the government has dismissed as a political stunt, the ACTU has told Employment Minister Eric Abetz he should suspend his IR legislative agenda for at least a year to enable the Heydon trade union inquiry and the Productivity Commission Fair Work Act review to run their course.
