Agreements and bargaining page 65 of 175

While Virgin workers have voted up five new agreements, pilots' overwhelming rejection of a Virgin Australia deal is the largest VIPA has seen and cabin crew's 70% "no" vote comes despite the FAAA telling members it was the best that could be achieved.

The ASU is challenging the ATO's COVID-19 emergency work-from-home arrangements and its ability to quickly call employees back to the office, accusing it in a Federal Court adverse action case of breaching the terms of its agreement.

The FWC has expressed scepticism in refusing to approve an agreement made with only one employee, rejecting a later claim that the company's director would also be covered.

BHP Billiton is sounding out employees in its fast-growing in-house labour hire operation on "simple, safety net" agreements that include a guarantee to pay 5% more than the award to full-time and part-time employees.

The FSU is accusing an industry superannuation fund of undermining the union's bargaining role and engaging in delaying tactics to "intimidate employees on a one on one basis", in an application for good faith bargaining orders filed this week.

The Morrison Government's IR omnibus legislation is seeking to extend the terms of large greenfields agreements to eight years, closing the door on lawful mid-project industrial action while new deals are negotiated.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers will today file a Federal Court test case for the TWU that alleges the Qantas decision to contract-out ground-handling duties performed by 2000 workers amounted to unlawful adverse action.

In holding that Qantas need not include prior service with related entities or casual employment when calculating flight attendants' redundancy entitlements, a senior FWC member has accused the FAAA of "cherry picking" to try to prove otherwise.

Virgin Australia will unilaterally seek support from its flight crew for a new enterprise deal, after failing to secure backing from its two pilot unions, while agreements for the remainder of the workforce have received the blessing of unions as the best they could achieve to get the relaunched airline back aloft.

A majority of workers at the revamped Virgin Australia have agreed to a pay freeze for up to two years under new enterprise agreements negotiated between aviation unions and the airline's management.