Unions at Toyota have won four years of shelter from the Howard Government's looming second wave of IR change, after striking an in-principle deal that provides an 18% pay rise, plus extra employer superannuation contributions and up to 3% in bonuses.
A Queensland IRC full bench will next week begin considering whether a large attraction and retention payment to a power company’s predominantly male technical workforce - while clerical workers get a lower increase – contravenes the State's gender pay equity principles and renders the deal ineligible for certification.
Both employers and unions are claiming victory in today's WA redundancy test case decision, after the State IRC doubled the maximum severance payout to 16 weeks and ordered that it apply to all WA award and non-award employees, but refused to extend severance entitlements to small business employees.
Australia's federal unfair dismissal laws might be 11 years old, but their constitutionality could become an issue if the ALP states decide to square up to the Federal Government on IR, according to a Sydney barrister.
About 80,000 Coles Supermarkets and Bi-Lo employees have won a 10.45% pay rise over three years and up to two years unpaid parental leave under a new enterprise agreement up for certification today, while Coles Myers' liquor group employees have won an 11.8% pay rise over three years under a separate deal.