Employment Minister Eric Abetz says that no formal decision has been made to create an appeal jurisdiction for the Fair Work Commission, despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott flagging his personal support for the plan.
The Abbott Government this morning introduced a Bill in the House of Representatives to cap redundancy payments under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme at a maximum of 16 weeks, describing the current benefits for employees of insolvent companies as "overly generous" and as creating a "moral hazard".
Labor and unions have slammed yesterday's deal between the Coalition and the Palmer United Party that keeps employers' guaranteed superannuation payments at their current rate until 2021 and scraps the low income contribution in three years.
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has told the AiG and others lobbying for accelerated IR change to take a "deep breath" and focus on what is already on the table.
A new report from a major employment law firm predicts that the Senate will pass the Abbott Government's Fair Work Act and building industry amendments, suggests the next reforms will be limits on industrial action and productivity requirements for enterprise agreements, and highlights the lower than expected activity in the FWC's anti-bullying jurisdiction.
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has moved quickly to douse suggestions from a junior minister that the federal government is looking to reform penalty rates, issuing a short statement this afternoon that any claims that it is planning to alter the way they are determined are "false".
The Abbott Government has sought to allay fears over a proposed Australian-first pilot program for Darwin employers to sponsor overseas workers, arguing it will be capped at 500 positions.
A mole inside Chris Corrigan's banking syndicate leaked critical information during the 1998 waterfront dispute, according to a new book by former ACTU secretary Greg Combet.
