WFD: TheShop Distributive Allied Employees Union (SDA) has defended itself against fresh claims workers are worse off under its enterprise agreements (EAs) in retail and fast food. A Fairfax story alleges a majority of Woolworths, KFC and Hungry Jack deals fail the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). It follows the Fair Work Commission (FWC) finding Co...
SDA defends itself against penalty rate trade-off claims
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Rio Tinto ordered to pay one of highest employee compensation amounts
A Federal Court order for mining giant Rio Tinto Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd (HCC) to pay more than $1.3m to a worker it stood down after being awarded damages is one of the highest ever to a worker under the Fair Work Act, his law firm has said. On August 26, 2016, Justice John Reeves, slammed HCC and its mine manager after it stood Michael Haylett do...
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Fears Qld IR Bill will erode industrial tribunal's independence
Queensland's industrial umpire would be stripped of its power to determine local government awards and certain bullying matters be referred to its federal counterpart under proposed changes to the state's industrial relations laws. The Queensland Government's Industrial Relations Bill introduced to Parliament yesterday (September 1) raised the ire ...
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Mining giant brings ‘industrial mercenaries' to break strikers
The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union Qld district (CFMEU) is claiming that global export coal producer Anglo American Coal has raised the stakes in its German Creek mine enterprise agreement (EA) dispute by advertising the jobs of strikers at higher rates of pay. Union and company have been bargaining since the last EA expired on April 4, ...
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Unions call for Senate inquiry into TPP agreement
Unions are among 60 organisations seeking a Senate inquiry before federal Parliament votes on legislation to implement the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, finalised in February. In a letter to members and senators, the group, which includes the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), lists labour rights as among its concerns wit...
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Ex-Police Association head Paul Mullet loses Supreme Court case
The Victorian Supreme Court has found against former Police Association boss Paul Mullett who claimed former Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon had subjected him to a malicious campaign to have him sacked. Justice Terry Forrest this week handed down the decision in favour of Nixon, rejecting Mullet's allegation she plotted to remove...
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Labor blames govt for IRC number drop
At Thursday's NSW Budget Estimates hearing , state Industrial Relations minister Gladys Berejiklian said the changes integrating the NSW Industrial Court with the Supreme Court ( Workforce 26/08/16 ) will “enhance the ability of parties to bring matters forward because they will be heard by the Supreme Court”. She said 10 years ago the ...
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Final labour hire report with Victorian Government
The Independent Inquiry into Labour Hire and Insecure Work in Victoria has handed its final report to acting industrial relations minister Jacinta Allan. The minister said the government would now consider the report's recommendations and respond “in due course”. RMIT Professor Anthony Forsyth chaired the inquiry, which investigated the...
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Union won't remove bargaining posts or posters despite legal threat
The National Tertiary Education Union Western Australia branch (NTEU) has refused to bow to Murdoch University's threat to immediately take down enterprise agreement (EA) bargaining material or face legal action. On September 1, 2016, law firm Seyfarth Shaw Australia, acting on behalf of Murdoch University, sent a letter to NTEU claiming the union ...
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Employer fined $112k for $40k underpayment
A hairdressing salon owner who accused his staff of theft during an appearance on Today Tonight has been fined $112,000 for underpaying two Taiwanese hairdressers nearly $40,000. Federal Circuit Court Judge Stewart Brown branded their exploitation a “self-serving piece of subterfuge”, in which the workers were paid a fraction of their e...
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Pursuit of industrial harmony no excuse for discrimination
A desire for industrial harmony was “no excuse” for Queensland-based company J Hutchinson Pty Ltd cancelling a $307k job with a subcontractor who did not have an enterprise agreement (EA) with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (FMEU), the Federal Circuit Court has ruled. Publishing reasons for his August 9 decision finin...
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Bank staff complain sales incentives driving bad behaviour
“Unrealistic” targets that put sales ahead of service will head a long list of Finance Sector Union (FSU) complaints to the Australian Banker's Association independent review into product-based payments in the industry, the union has confirmed. Understaffing, bullying and a widespread inability to take sick and annual leave are among ot...
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ANMF cites being a ‘craft' union for big membership increase
Going against the long term national trend of declining union membership, “craft union” Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is continuing to swim against the tide announcing a 4.2% growth in its membership over the past twelve months. The ANMF say at June 30, 2016 the increase in their members to 258,989 “cements...
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Editorial Team
Editor: AnnieLawson (03) 9286 1411. Journalist: Steve Andrew. Chief Journalist: Gerard May. Managing Editor: Peter Schwab. Twitter: @WorkforceTR
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Reduced pay offer for immigration & border force staff incenses union
The Federal Government has “sunk to a new low” following the Public Service Commissioner's intervention in the protracted pay negotiations for immigration and border protection staff, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says. CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood criticised the govt's controversial bargaining tactics that saw Cm...
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HSU rebrands translates to membership boost
The Health Workers Union's decision to distance itself from the “poisonous” Health Service Union (HSU) identity four years ago has paid off handsomely, with membership nearly doubling and the union's finances back in the black. Diana Asmar, secretary of the renamed Health Workers Union (HWU), described the HSU brand as “poisonous&...
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Workplace with ‘robust language' no defence where violent threats made
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found a worker with a history of fighting on the job was validly fired after he threatened a work colleague with physical violence, called his boss a “f-ck wit”, “coward c-nt”, and a “spineless jellyfish” because it was “fundamentally inconsistent” with his role as a...
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Karaoke bars fined for exploiting workers
A Fair Work Ombudsman investigation has revealed exploitation of workers in five karaoke bars in Melbourne and Perth. Almost $11,000 has since been recovered for 19 workers short-changed their minimum wages between September 28 and November 11, 2015, the FWO said. Three employers received on-the-spot fines and all five received a compliance notice ...
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FWC tosses out application to stop bullying after complainant sacked
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has tossed out a worker's application to stop bullying after hearing he had since been sacked. TNT Australia clerk Javier Belmar claimed he was exposed to intimidatory language and unwarranted criticism by two supervisors shortly after joining the company on April 4, 2016. He has been absent from work on sick leave si...
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Amalgamating roles meant worker had to apply for job
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has rejected an employee's claim she was unfairly dismissed when made redundant after failing to apply for a new similar job because it found that role contained new duties and a different reporting line. Senior Deputy President Peter Richards dismissed administrator Selina Mossman's claim Veolia Environmental Service...
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