The FWC has called out a union bargaining representative for his "unexplained" change of heart about in-person voting for a new deal occurring during a COVID-19 lockdown, noting that his opposition only surfaced after the non-appearance of two holidaying workers helped it get up by a slim margin.
Virgin Australia pilots have ahead of their union's merger with the TWU voted up a new deal that includes a freeze on compulsory redundancies before December next year.
Employers once said to be facing up to $38 billion in casuals' backpay claims have welcomed today's High Court confirmation that contracts are decisive in determining employment types, while workers' representatives have come out swinging.
The High Court has today unanimously upheld labour hire company Workpac's challenge to a finding that coal mineworker Robert Rossato was entitled to paid leave while engaged as a casual on consecutive contracts for almost four years.
The FWC has blocked a large employer's bid to move workers on to higher-paid staff roles as part of a restructure, telling the company the decision will "increase [its] cost benefits".
A FWC full bench has after granting the MUA permission to test the boundaries of what constitutes a "waterside worker" ultimately rejected its bid to revive an application for a majority support determination for control room operators at a liquefied gas storage facility.
A FWC bench has scrapped a contentious deal covering train drivers servicing the Roy Hill Pilbara mine network after finding the employer engaged in "corporate manipulation" by creating a parallel business to bargain with two newly-hired workers for an inferior agreement.
An FWC full bench has refused RAFFWU leave to appeal a finding that petitions showing almost 100% of 2000 participating Coles workers want to bargain are not enough to make a majority support determination.
In another test of public-private ventures, prison officers at the country's largest and newest correctional centre are considering striking after overwhelmingly rejecting what the CPSU called a "lowball" deal put forward by operator Serco Australia.
