WFD: In what is understood to be the first tribunal or court decision on the matter, the Fair Work Commission has found coverage rules do not prevent a union from representing its members in matters before the cmn. The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) had sought to represent truck drivers Errol and Gabriel McCarthy in their unfair ...
Unions do not need coverage to represent applicants in FWC
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NSW Labor seeks to boost protections for ‘self-employed'
WFD: Small businesses, sole traders and independent contractors need the protection of unfair contract laws because they represent a new mode of ‘self-employed' workers “without any of the rights enjoyed by an employee”, NSW shadow IR minister Adam Searle has said. Searle made the comments in a speech to the NSW Industrial Relatio...
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NSW Labor could use procurement for IR influence
WFD: Labor's NSW industrial relations spokesperson has revealed it may take a leaf from state Coalition governments' controversial building codes and use public procurement to influence IR in the private sector. Shadow IR spokesperson Adam Searle revealed the idea in a speech to the NSW Industrial Relations Society (NSWIRS) conference in Leura on F...
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Freedoms inquiry will not finish until end of 2015
WFD: The Federal Government has extended by 12 months the reporting deadline for its broad inquiry into legal limits on “traditional” rights and freedoms and removed reference for it to “focus particularly” on workplace laws. The final terms of reference for the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) so-called “free...
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Unlegislated building code already having effect
WFD: A principal contractor at the $767m Maules Creek coal mine project in NSW has sought to remove union and contractor clauses from its construction greenfields agreement out of concern they will not be compliant with the Federal Government's proposed national building code. The Govt's building code, attached to its Bill to re-establish the Austr...
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NSW collaborative model shows success in third party involvement
WFD: The NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) has trumpeted its collaborative approach to IR in the Hunter Valley as responsible for bringing billion-dollar projects under budget and ahead of schedule, with zero time lost to industrial disputes. Speaking about the often unreported success of the so-called ‘Hunter Model' at the NSW IR Soc...
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Forsyth pushes Canadian first contract arbitration for Australia
WFD: Industrial relations academic Anthony Forsyth has argued Australia should adopt Canadian-style arbitration as a means to encourage collective bargaining. Speaking at a conference in Canada on the weekend (May 25), Forsyth said given evidence of the role of ‘first contract arbitration' (FCA) in developing stable bargaining relationships i...
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Dodgy investigations cruel two unfair dismissal defences
WFD: In a reminder of the need for thorough, independent workplace investigations, two recent Fair Work Commission decisions found poor investigations contributed to employers unfairly dismissing workers sacked for fighting or using physical force in the workplace. Fighting a valid reason for dismissal ... In the first case (above) , Michael Fitzpa...
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Reinstatement for non-genuine redundancies at Downer EDI
WFD: The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered Downer EDI Mining to reinstate three employees who it made redundant, only to advertise for new employees in their roles two months later. Downer EDI retrenched 106 employees on May 17, 2013 due to a decrease in production at the Boggabri Coal Mine. In July, it decided to increase production at the mi...
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Employer's stand down threat fails to stop interim reinstatement
WFD: The Federal Court has granted interim reinstatement to a coal miner while it hears his adverse action claim, finding his employer's offer to pay him not to work and threat to stand him down if reinstated did not favour keeping him out of the job. Stephen Byrne worked at Anglo Coal (Dawson Services) Pty Ltd and was also the Construction Forestr...
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Fines for each breached term
WFD: The Full Federal Court has held breaches of each term of a modern award and the National Employment Standards (NES) are punishable separately and not as one course of conduct, rejecting the appeal of a medical centre and its director who underpaid a visually-impaired receptionist. In October 2013, Federal Circuit Court Judge Sylvia Emmett orde...
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FWC president shoots down claims of inconsistency
WFD: The head of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has comprehensively rebutted Federal Government and employer group claims the FWC is making “inconsistent” decisions, which have been used to support calls for a separate appeals body (WF18945) ( WF18945 ) . Speaking on his plans to improve the cmn's performance at the NSW IR Society Confe...
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Justice Ross rejects member seniority system as ‘management by default'
Fair Work Commission President Justice Iain Ross has addressed employer group and media criticism about the way he assigns matters to cmn members, saying blind obedience to seniority did not ensure the most effective result. The Australian Mines and Metals Assoc has criticised Justice Ross for not appointing Vice Presidents Graeme Watson and Michae...
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FWBC takes Noonan to Federal Court
The Fair Work Building Commission (FWBC) has launched Federal Court proceedings against Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) national secretary Dave Noonan and WA branch leaders. FWBC alleges Noonan, WA secretary Mick Buchan, assistant secretary Joe McDonald and organiser Tawa Harris organised a blockade of Perth's New Children's Hospi...
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Bench blocks prepayment of leave
A Fair Work Commission (FWC) full bench has rejected an enterprise agreement (EA) which attempted to pay annual leave in advance through progressive wage payments, finding the National Employment Standards (NES) require pay for leave at the time the leave is taken. The finding resolves conflicting decisions on the matter. Canavan Building applied f...
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Editorial team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com. Chief Journalist: Paul Karp. Journalist: Steve Andrew. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Product code: 314021719165. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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CFMEU can't force re-induction: FWC
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) to cease a stop-work aimed at forcing John Holland to re-induct a site manager after he admitted safety breaches. Brian Weigel was the manager at John Holland's Kelvin Grove Queensland University of Technology building site. On May 9 Weigel failed to in...
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FWO rebuts non-monetary benefits scare
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has told Senate Estimates today that the Government's proposed Fair Work Act amendments do not change the law around providing non-monetary benefits in individual flexibility agreements (IFAs). FWO Natalie James told the estimates hearing today (June 2) that claims the FW Amendment Bill 2014 “'reeked of the worst...
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FWO targets trainee and apprentice underpayments
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has announced a national crackdown against employers underpaying apprentices and trainees and an “education and compliance” campaign for the building and construction industry. During Senate Estimates today, FWO Natalie James accepted apprentices were a “vulnerable group” but said high rates of ...
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FWBC expands ‘cold case' investigations
The building watchdog is investigating 14 ‘cold cases' against unions that were discontinued or settled by its predecessor, Fair Work Building Construction (FWBC) director Nigel Hadgkiss has told Senate Estimates today. In response to questions about FWBC's inquiry into its predecessor's approach to unlawful industrial action at the Victoria ...
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