The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has refused the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) a protected action ballot order (PABO) application after finding it had not genuinely tried to reach an enterprise agreement (EA) - despite a marathon three years of offshore vessel operator negotiations. Commissioner Danny Cloghan rejected AIM...
FWC denies AIMPE PABO because of ‘constructed' bargaining
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‘Uberised' workers may benefit from new unfair contracts laws: Stewart
Uber drivers and “on-demand” platform workers could arguably claim protections under Fair Work Act sham contracting provisions or new unfair contracts legislation set to come into effect this year, according to University of Adelaide labour law Professor Andrew Stewart. Speaking on regulating the so-called “sharing economy” ...
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‘Profound' impacts for Australia in use of automation
Australia is the biggest automation user in the world, a leading robotics engineer has argued. But while such automation is having enormous productivity benefits it is also threatening to increase income inequality and “decimate” regional areas. University of Sydney mechatronic engineering Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte spoke to the Austr...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Gerard May. Journalist: Bernadette McBride. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Worker who lost job by automation ‘not genuinely redundant'
A maritime worker who lost his job in Patrick's automation of Port Botany has got his job back along with lost pay after the Fair Work Commission held his redundancy was not genuine and so unfair. Commissioner Ian Cambridge aid the dismissal was a “direct consequence” of Patrick failing to adhere to its policies on redeployment. They we...
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PM vows to change law to eliminate ‘unacceptable' EA clauses
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has intervened in the Vic firefighters dispute to promisechanges to the Fair Work Act (Act) for “ objectionable or unacceptable clauses ” in enterprise agreements (EA) to prevent union-controlled workplaces. The PM told a rally of hundreds of angry volunteer firefighters yesterday (June 5) thatthe Fair Wo...
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Judge ends CFMEU Qld ‘union meetings' - for now
The Federal Court has ordered the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union Qld branch (CFMEU) be restricted from using its controversial ‘union meeting' power on a Commonwealth Games construction site until after a hearing into its use has been determined. The Fair Work Building Commission (FWBC) is challenging the CFMEU's use of a enter...
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Labor targeting procurement policy to create 10% apprentice quota
Labor has promised that if elected it will introduce requirements that 1 in 10 jobs on major Commonwealth-funded infrastructure projects go to apprentices. It would then work with states and territories to develop procurement rules for apprentices that applied to all infrastructure, construction and defence projects with capital expenditure of more...
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No right to wear union logos on uniform: FWC
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found the Australian Workers Union (AWU) members at several Western Australia (WA) mining operations cannot wear union logos on their work dress. Commissioner Bruce Williams decided Alcoa of Australia Limited was “entitled” to require “all employees” covered by the Alcoa World Alumina Austr...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Gerard May. Journalist: Bernadette McBride. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Holden aiming high with ‘world class' employee transition plan
Holden says it is on track to reach a 90% success rate in helping its hundreds of workers find new jobs as part of a “world-class” transition plan following the company's announcement it would cease manufacturing in Australia in 2017. There were few dry eyes at the Australian Labour Employment Relations Association national conference o...
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FWO takes first PPL court action
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is taking its first legal action over paid parental leave (PPL) after a former United Petroleum (UP) operator allegedly withheld more than $11k in government-funded parental leave payments from a visa worker. The ombudsman alleges Kulpreet Singh, ex-operator and part-owner of a NSW UP service station plus roadhouse res...
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‘A better app' won't stop union decline: Lyons
“Membership lite” offerings and a better app are not the answers to transforming declining models of unionism, a new research piece has argued. The paper by ex-Aust Council of Trade Unions assistant secretary Tim Lyons and ex-United Voice assistant secretary Troy Burton presents an analytical framework for unions to develop and assess &...
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Sushi shop, accountant face court over ‘unlawful internship program'
A take-away sushi outlet allegedly used an unlawful ‘internship program' to exploit three young Korean visa workers and used an accountant to create false pay records to cover up the more than $51k in underpayments. The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking legal action against Kjoo Pty Ltd, which operates the Masaki sushi outlet in Wollongong, and i...
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Editorial Team
Editor: David Marin-Guzman, (02) 8587 7682, david.marin-guzman@thomsonreuters.com . Chief Journalist: Gerard May. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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CFA-UFU EA close to sign off: Vic premier
The Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has said he is hopeful the controversial Country Fire Authority (CFA) and United Fire-fighters Union (UFU) enterprise agreement (EA) will be signed within days following new proposals for third party oversight of disputes. The Vic govt said in a statement on Monday (June 6) that it will concentrate on discussing...
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Workers let go after FWBC declares union stickers breach building code
Unions are claiming that three construction workers have lost their jobs and 130 have been issued with warnings because they would not take union stickers off their clothing. The allegations follow a Fair Work Building Commission (FWBC) audit that found the stickers were “serious breaches” of the building code's freedom of association p...
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Sack for speeding after work not harsh: FWC
An employee was fairly dismissed for driving 25km/h over the speed limit on his way home in a company car, despite his lack of prior misconduct and “good” safety record at work. Fair Work Commissioner Tanya Cirkovic held dismissal was proportionate as safety was “paramount” for WA electricity network Western Power and servic...
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Merit in extending portable LSL, Vic inquiry finds
A Vic parliamentary inquiry has recommended the State Government examine the feasibility of introducing portable long service leave (LSL) schemes for contract cleaning and security, and found there is “merit” in establishing a scheme in community services. The Economic, Education, Jobs and Skills Committee's final portable LSL report , ...
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Hefty $2m back-pay over failure to understand transitional provisions
In one of the largest backpay bills ever enforced by the Fair Work Ombudsmen (FWO), a Vic mining company has repaid 205 workers more than $2m after it was caught underpaying them over four years. The FWO has cited the company's joining an employer association as playing a central part in the “win-win” outcome - which involved signing up...
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