In a decision signalling potential judicial pushback against so-called "sham" agreements, a Federal Court has quashed a two-year-old deal approved by three employees that now covers more than 1000 mining services workers, ruling that the employer made inadequate efforts to explain a document benchmarked against 11 different awards.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered Glencore subsididary Oaky Creek Coal to stop conducting surveillance of locked-out employees of its Oaky North underground coal mine in Queensland.
Employers should be unable to terminate enterprise agreements that leave workers worse off, according to a Senate inquiry considering so-called 'corporate avoidance' of the Fair Work Act.
The approval of new deals covering almost 22,000 ATO and PM&C employees heralds significant progress in the CPSU's longest-ever bargaining dispute, but the union says it won't be resolved until the Department of Human Services "gets the message on retaining rights and conditions".
The CFMEU will stage a national day of protest next week as tensions rise in the construction industry over the coming deadline for having code-compliant agreements to avoid being barred from winning Commonwealth-funded contracts.
An employer's refusal to give in to the demands of a bargaining representative does not amount to a failure to negotiate in good faith, the FWC has confirmed in rejecting a bid for bargaining orders.
Early adopters Sydney Water and the ASU are again making use of the FWC's New Approaches program in negotiations for a new three-year agreement, providing workers with detailed proposals for conditions and pay rises after four days early this month of "interest-based" assisted talks.
The FWC has rejected a bid for bargaining orders to stop an agreement going to ballot, finding the employer was entitled to "draw a line in the sand" and refuse further negotiations.
The SA branch of the IEU and employers have conceded defeat after almost two years of bitter negotiations for a new deal covering the state's Catholic schools, with both withdrawing their claims and settling on backdated pay rises aligned with those in government schools.