The FWC has thrown out a bid by the AMWU to enter the BHP OS training facility near Mackay to hold discussions with about 150 maintenance trainees, finding the union's coverage rule for fitters and engineering trades doesn't extend to the "caterpillar" trainees until they become maintenance associate "butterflies".
An inquiry into a "terrifying" accident last year in which five mineworkers sustained serious burns has found that labour hire and contract work is "entrenched" in the Queensland coal mining industry and has recommended that employers and labour suppliers bear joint responsibility for safety compliance.
The CFMMEU has told the High Court that applying the multifactorial test to determine if a worker is an employee or independent contractor is a "vacuous" approach without ultimately establishing whether they are conducting their own business.
The FWC has found the redundancy of a FIFO labour hire coal mineworker affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions not genuine, holding that Workpac failed to meet its consult obligations after BHP said it no longer needed him.
The FWC has upheld the dismissal of a student visa holder who punched a co-worker in the face after accusing him of saying "a lot of bad things" about a colleague she claimed was regularly being sexually assaulted by local Japanese gangsters.
The High Court is likely to hear the Personnel Contracting/ZG Operations and Ridd cases in the second half of the year, after setting timetables for submissions to be completed by early June.
A FWC member has resisted criticising labour hire company Workpac for mishandling the redundancies of five mine workers due to "extraordinary" COVID-19 circumstances but expressed disbelief at resource giant South32's ignorance of its supplier's statutory obligations.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is set to promise to legislate job security as a key objective of the Fair Work Act, along with empowering the FWC to set minimum standards for gig workers.
In a significant decision on FWC powers, a full bench has found the tribunal could not force a labour hire company to reinstate a worker to his former job at client Carlton United Breweries, given the beer giant was contractually entitled to order his removal.