The latest appeal and court challenges of IR rulings. MUA v Skilled Offshore & FWO Decision reviewed: Federal Court decision ordering the MUA to pay more than $500k in penalties and compensation for preventing two workers from being hired as a result of a closed shop arrangement with the employer (WF 2/04/2015). Issues: Calculation of compensat...
Appeal Roundup
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Bullying/harassment claim must fail as no proof of race or age bias
A doctor may have been harassed and bullied but because he had no evidence it was based on his race or age his complaint was bound to fail, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has found. Dr Ajeet Sidhu only raised the two grounds when the Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB) asked him to explain what he was basing his complaint on. He repli...
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Decide default super by tender: Grattan
Default superannuation funds should be chosen by competitive tender to encourage low-fee products which could see average retirement savings increase by $40k, the Grattan Institute has said. The Grattan Super Savings report - released April 19 - backed the Murray Financial System Inquiry's (FSI) call for an auction or tender to improve competition ...
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Safety advisers not covered by awards
In what is understand to be the first ruling on the matter, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has said that workplace health and safety (WHS) advisers are not covered by the modern awards and so not protected from unfair dismissal if they earn above the high income threshold. Deputy President Peter Sams determined a highly paid safety adviser working ...
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ACTU accepts single-person test but argues for consistency
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) should reverse its acceptance of the Fair Work Commission's single-person test in the annual wage review, the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (ACCER) has said. ACCER used its response to minimum wage submissions to call on the peak union body to return to its historical pursuit of f...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Paul Karp. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Unions call for access to employer accounts
The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) is leading a push to change Labor policy to legislate a requirement that employers reveal their confidential financial accounts with parties engaged in enterprise bargaining. The push for ‘truth in bargaining' is contained in a letter from RTBU national secretary Bob Nanva to the ALP national president Georg...
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Shorten right of entry notice to prevent abuse: RTBU
The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has proposed giving unions the right to apply to shorten right of entry (RoE) notice periods, claiming employers abuse notice by moving workers off site. The proposal is contained in a letter from RTBU national secretary Bob Nanva to the ALP national president George Wright, for debate and possible inclusion to th...
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Bill to cut unfair dismissal protections for immigration dept
A Bill to give police powers to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) proposes to exempt the dept from unfair dismissal claims if a worker is suspected of serious misconduct and to give powers for the dept to force workers to self-incriminate. The Australian Border Force (ABF) Bill , introduced to parliament on February 25, pro...
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CFMEU called up in June as TURC prepares for opening statement
The Trade Union Royal Commission will outline the broad direction of its second year of inquiries in a preliminary hearing on Thursday (April 23), ahead of its first public hearing next week into the Electrical Trade Union NSW. The cmn published a schedule of upcoming hearings, with the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) listed for t...
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Court rejects political opinion adverse action claim at HSU
The Federal Circuit Court (FCC) has rejected the adverse action claim of a Health Services Union Victoria No 1 branch (HSU) organiser who claimed secretary Diana Asmar sacked her due to her political beliefs and sexuality. Judge John O'Sullivan preferred Asmar's evidence that she sacked organiser Jayne Govan because of her poor work performance. As...
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‘Disingenuous in extreme': DP blasts ‘serious misconduct' sacking
Fair Work Deputy President Peter Sams has slammed an employer - and questioned its legal advisers - for its “appalling” actions in changing the basis for an employee's dismissal more than a month after the event, resulting in her filing a late unfair dismissal claim. Describing the case as “quite extraordinary”, DP Sams gran...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Paul Karp. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Sharing sensitive company docs with unions ‘unworkable': ACCI
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and employment minister Senator Eric Abetz have both slated a union bid to force companies to share commercially confidential information with bargaining parties as unworkable and disastrous for business. The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) proposed the policy for inclusion in the ALP platform a...
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No ‘full examination' of work performance needed in bully cases
A Fair Work Commission (FWC) full bench has confirmed the cmn is not required to independently assess an applicant's work performance in anti-bullying cases where the employer's performance management is called into question. The bench - Senior Deputy President Anne Harrison, DP Jeff Lawrence and Commissioner Ian Cambridge - rejected a senior publi...
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Appeal court overturns ‘Pyrrhic' mutual trust and confidence win
The NSW Court of Appeal has upheld the State of NSW's challenge against a finding it had breached the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence by informing two probationary teachers about various complaints against them. The Appeal Court also rejected the teachers' claim NSW breached a term of good faith. The decision indicates how vulnerable al...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Paul Karp. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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FWC cancels Aurizon EAs during bargaining despite union objections
Rail freight operator Aurizon has achieved a significant victory in its long-running blue with the rail union, with a Fair Work Commission full bench this afternoon cancelling its 12 enterprise agreements (EAs) in Qld and moving workers onto the award while they bargain for new EAs. The decision frees Aurizon from restrictive legacy conditions, inc...
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FWC cancels EAs and shifts workers onto awards during bargaining
Rail freight operator Aurizon has achieved a significant victory in its long-running blue with the rail union, with a Fair Work Commission full bench this afternoon cancelling its 12 enterprise agreements (EAs) in Qld and moving workers onto the award while they bargain for new EAs. The decision frees Aurizon from restrictive legacy conditions, inc...
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TURC considers widening grounds for banning officials
The Trade Union Royal Commission will consider banning union officials from holding office based on repeat breaches of the Fair Work Act as part of its policy responses to combat union misconduct. Senior counsel assisting Jeremy Stoljar also flagged possible changes to enterprise agreements, including preventing them from requiring contributions to...
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