WFD: The Fair Work Commission has refused a majority support determination (MSD) at Veolia because the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) could not account for the “custody and control” of the petition in the month it was collecting signatures. The decision raises the bar for satisfying the cmn of majority support as a party ...
FWC raises bar for majority support petitions
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Unions must prepare for future of work: Oliver
WFD: Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Dave Oliver has warned digital disruption is increasing unsecure employment and unions must prepare themselves to represent workers in a changed economy. The union leader flagged organising the online workplace and developing apps for workers as possible responses to the challenge ahead of a ...
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Aurizon delays 160 redundancies for appeal
WFD: Aurizon has announced its intention to make 160 employees redundant, but will delay acting until the Full Federal Court hears a union appeal to reinstate a ‘no forced redundancy' clause. On April 22, Aurizon rid itself of the redundancy clauses and other legacy conditions when a Fair Work Commission (FWC) full bench terminated 12 enterpr...
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No settlements allowed on civil penalties: Full Court
WFD: The Full Federal Court has held that regulators including Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC) and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) can't nominate a fixed penalty or range for civil penalties, even if done by agreement with the defendants. The Full Court went against FWO advice that agreements helped resolve proceedings and that doing away ...
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Child sex charges didn't frustrate teacher's contract: FWC
WFD: The Fair Work Commission has rejected a school's claim a teacher's employment contract was frustrated when he was unable to pass a working-with-children check due to child sex charges. That was because the school had already suspended the teacher at the time the requirement took effect, but it had nevertheless continued his employment. On Sept...
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Four Corners report leads to calls to stop temporary visa expansion
WFD: Unions have called on the Federal Government to immediately suspend any expansion of the temporary visa program in light of the ABC's Four Corners report on gross exploitation of migrant workers by labour hire companies operating for big suppliers to the food industry. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said last night's report conf...
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Liberal Senator calls Riordan FWC appointment into question
WFD: The Liberal chairman of the Senate's workplace relations references committee has called on opposition leader Bill Shorten to explain how he could appoint Bernie Riordan to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) due to Riordan's “conflict of interest” over the Electrical Trade Union's $500k loan to the ALP NSW. Ex-ETU NSW secretary Riordan...
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Unions NSW pushed for lower rate for its million dollar loan to ALP
WFD: Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon negotiated down the interest rate for the peak body's $1.5m loan to the ALP state branch because he was concerned that it was “too high”. Giving evidence to the Trade Union Royal Commission, Lennon said the NSW ALP branch had requested the loan at the end of 2010 to fill a cash shortfall ahead of th...
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No lawyers needed for ‘big' unfair dismissal case: bench
WFD: A Fair Work Commission (FWC) full bench has rejected the need for legal representation in an unfair dismissal case after finding it was not a “complex” matter despite the volume of documents and “extraneous materials” involved. The decision reinforced the importance of parties providing evidence of how they would be dis...
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ALP ‘conflict of interest' did not prevent loan approval: Riordan
WFD: Labor membership did not prevent Electrical Trades Union (ETU) NSW executive members from voting on a half a million dollar loan to the NSW ALP, Fair Work Commissioner and ex-ETU NSW boss Bernie Riordan has argued. The Trade Union Royal Commission grilled Riordan this morning over the $500k loan made on Dec 23, 2010, allegedly without union ap...
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Boss's heated allegations do not count as verbal dismissal: bench
Fair Work Commissioner John Ryan “erected an artificial construct” when he held a boss accusing an employee of being a thief amounted to a verbal dismissal, a full bench has held. As a result of the finding Cmr Ryan had treated the theft accusation - and not a subsequent physical altercation - as the reason for the worker's dismissal an...
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Cafe forced Indian cooks to pay thousands in cash for visas: FWO
An Albury café owner faces multiple charges of breaching workplace laws, including coercing two Indian workers into paying him more than $21k in return for his support for their s457 visas. The two young workers faced the prospect of having to leave Australia within 28 days if the employer withdrew support for their visas. The Fair Work Ombudsman (...
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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: 314021719605. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Diary
NSW IR Society Conference: May 22, Leura. More info here . ACTU Congress : May 26-28, Melbourne. Speakers include Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek, Dave Oliver and Ged Kearney. More info here . Committee for Economic Development of Australia : ‘Digital disruption and Australia's future workforce'. June 16, Melbourne. More info here . Australian ...
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Primary school teacher harshly sacked for taping students to chairs
A Catholic school teacher summarily sacked for taping three five-year old students to their chairs has been found to have been harshly dismissed because the school took too long before taking action. The primary school teacher ‘RT' claimed she had used masking tape - which was placed across the children's laps and down the side of the chairs ...
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TURC to probe TWU WA's $300k ‘utegate' misappropriation
The Trade Union Royal Commission (TURC) will next week investigate claims two former Transport Workers Union (TWU) WA officials misappropriated $300k to buy two utes, a matter referred by the union after an internal investigation. In November 2014, the union announced an investigation by the TWU ombudsman and former NSW Industrial Court judge Wayne...
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IT workers in month-long lockout over classification blue
A subsidiary of healthcare giant Primary Health Care Ltd has locked out its tech support staff workers for 27 days over a dispute about the support staff's pay and classification. The Australian Services Union (ASU) central and southern Qld branch has been negotiating for an enterprise agreement (EA) for 13 health care tech systems support staff at...
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Questionable redundancy secured $400k send-off for ex TWU boss
Former Transport Workers Union (TWU) WA secretary and national president James McGiveron received a $373k payout on leaving the union as a result of a generous redundancy policy he introduced less than 12 months earlier, the Trade Union Royal Commission (TURC) has heard. In his opening statement TURC counsel assisting Richard Scruby said McGiveron ...
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Crossbenchers deliver extension of FWBC coercive powers until 2017
All eight Senate crossbenchers have united to back legislation renewing the construction watchdog's coercive powers due to expire at the end of this month, despite their concerns over the justification for the powers. The Fair Work Construction Industry Amendment (Protecting Witnesses) Bill passed at noon today without amendment. That means the Fai...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . ChiefJournalist: Paul Karp. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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