Australian Labour Law Association national conference: Nov 4-5, St Kilda, Melbourne. More info here .
Diary
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Casual must be consulted over redundancy: bench
A Fair Work Commission (FWC) full bench has found a casual employee's redundancy was not genuine because his employer breached a general consultation provision in its enterprise agreement (EA). That was despite its specific consultation provision on redeployment and redundancy not applying to casuals. The bench - Vice President Graeme Watson, Deput...
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Experts call for return to simpler IR laws, greater discretion
IR experts have argued workplace legislation has become too complex and needs to be expressed in simpler ways to better meet the needs of employers and employees. But that is unlikely to happen without a stable consensus on the fundamental principles underlying it. At the Australian Labour Employment Relations Association national conference on May...
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Vic Govt threatens to fire CFA if no agreement
The Vic Labor government has threatened to replace the Country Fire Authority (CFA) board if it can't agree to resolve the bitter enterprise agreement (EA) dispute with it by 5pm today. The ultimatum followed Premier Daniel Andrews this afternoon accepting emergency services minister Jane Garrett's resignation from cabinet because she “refuse...
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Huge fines for school's misuse of fixed-term contracts, RoE breaches
The Federal Court has ordered a school and its senior management to pay more than $150k plus costs for unlawfully employing too many teachers on fixed-term contracts, then seeking to cover it up by forging contracts and blocking the union from investigating the matter. The penalties against the Islamic school Australian International Academy of Edu...
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FWC slashes worker pay after considering miner's sustainability
In a decision that could have significant ramifications for the mining industry and employers generally, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has held it is in the “public interest” to terminate a WA coal mine's enterprise agreement despite claims it will result in pay cuts of 43%. Commissioner Danny Cloghan considered Collie's Griffin Coal h...
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Vic govt moving to remove CFA board over EA dispute
The Victorian Labor government has begun to replace the Country Fire Authority (CFA) board members after claiming the CFA “did not want to” end the long-running enterprise agreement (EA) dispute with the United Firefighters Union Vic branch (UFU). Last week acting Vic emergency services minister James Merlino handed the CFA board an ult...
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Labor Govt to make five days family violence the minimum
Labor has promised that if elected it will enact family violence leave in legislation and “guarantee” that 18 weeks paid parental leave is the “minimum” standard. In a speech on Labor's gender equality policy on Saturday (June 11) opposition leader Bill Shorten declared that if elected“we will reform the National Emplo...
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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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Docking ‘strike pay' unlawful after employer told workers to stop work
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered an employer to repay its employees four hours pay it docked them for a stop work that it alleged was unprotected. Commissioner Jennifer Hunt found Planet Plumbing Pty Ltd (Qld) employees at South Brisbane Spice apartments did not stop work to carry out Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) Qld's ...
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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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Coalition promises to intervene to stop CFA-UFU EA if re-elected
The Federal Coalition government has said today that if re-elected it will use “all available federal powers” to stop the proposed Country Fire Authority (CFA) and United Firefighters Union Vic branch (UFU) enterprise agreement (EA) from coming into effect. Federal employment minister Senator Michaelia Cash says she has a range of power...
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FWC challenges ‘extraordinary' CEPU membership numbers
The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) has been forced to review the integrity of its membership numbers and consider sweeping reforms in response to “significant” concerns that its reported numbers for the past several years were “unlikely” to be true. The concerns flagged by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in A...
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Cleaner fairly fired by text message after ‘abusing' client's contractor
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found a worker who was summarily fired by text after abusing a client's contracted security guard was not unfairly dismissed because her actions could have damaged her employer's reputation and possibility to gain a future contract. Commissioner Chris Simpson dismissed Eaton Services Group Pty Ltd casual cleaner C...
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PC flags WR changes if 'gig' economy continues to grow
The Productivity Commission (PC) has said governments may need to consider workplace relations changes to accommodate a “growing category of employment” emerging with the so-called “gig economy”. However, it has cautioned that the scope of such change is still uncertain. The PC's research paper into “digital disruption...
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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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Building code compliance doesn't affect PABO: FWC
The Fair Work Commission has held bargaining claims' non-compliance with the federal building code is irrelevant to the test of whether a union is genuinely seeking to reach agreement when determining a protected action ballot order (PABO) application. The decision also reveals that the Fair Work Building and Construction Commission (FWBC) is using...
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High Court challenge to MSD requirements fails
The High Court has rebuffed ResMed's latest challenge to the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's (AMWU) right to bargain on behalf of its workers, rejecting argument that the union can only seek a majority support determination (MSD) if it has coverage of all its employees (WF 22/01/16) . High Court Justices Susan Kiefel and Patrick Keane yest...
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ALAEA planning legal blitz against Qantas
The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) is planning up to six court cases against Qantas, claiming some of the airline's managers are taking advantage of the union's “tamer” approach to “push our members around” and ignore agreements. In a June 15 bulletin to members, federal secretary Steve Purvinas s...
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No need for a bargaining order despite misleading union members
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has refused to issue a bargaining order against the National Tertiary Education Industry Union WA branch (NTEU) despite finding its incorrect enterprise agreement (EA) statements undermined bargaining with three universities. Commissioner Bruce Williams dismissed Curtin, Murdoch and Edith Cowan universities' bid for g...
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