A union-led social media campaign calling for an ice cream boycott has reached one and a half million people in less than two weeks. The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) seems to have hit the sweet spot on Twitter and Facebook with their campaign to boycott Streets ice cream. Georgia Kriz, one of the three-member AMWU communications t...
Converting ‘likes' to cash with union dues: how unions use social media
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High Court refuses to intervene in Ritson sacking matter
In the latest twist in the long-running fight by a former police officer against his sacking as a fair work building inspector, the High Court has refused to intervene in his security for costs matter ( WF 9/8/2017 ). Refusing Brendan Ritson special leave to appeal against Federal Court Justice Berna Collier's order for him to pay $25,000 security ...
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Multimillion dollar win for produce farmers in FWC ‘farm gate' ruling
In a decision potentially saving the horticultural industry hundreds of millions of dollars, the Fair Work Commission has changed the Horticultural Award 2010 to specifically include workers who wash, pack, grade and dispatch produce before sending to market. The bench applied the change retrospectively for eight years. Unions - principally the Nat...
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Women paid $26k less than men
Men take home $26,527 more per year than women, according to workplace data released on press day (November 17). Every industry and occupation across the Australian workforce has a full time gender pay gap favouring men, with women earning on average just 78% of men's full time earnings, the 2016-17 Workplace Gender Equality Agency figures show. Pa...
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Employer loses appeal after speeding truck driver reinstated
Discretionary decisions cannot be appealed simply on the basis that an appellate tribunal would have decided it in a different way, a Fair Work Commission full bench has reaffirmed. Tossing out an appeal by employer Reliable Petroleum against a finding ordering the reinstatement of a truck driver sacked for speeding, Deputy Presidents Val Gostencni...
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Workers say it's easy to exaggerate expense claims
Almost half the workforce admits to exaggerating or falsifying expense claims, with 86% of workers saying their expenses were never challenged or declined, a report by Webexpenses has found. The changing nature of expense fraud report , released this week, gathered information through a survey of 4,000 workers from Australia, the UK, North America ...
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No award for speed camera operators
Victorian traffic camera operators are not covered by any modern award for better off overall test (BOOT) comparisons, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found, because of the “semi-regulatory nature of the role”. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says this means those workers are left with insecure working hours, as part tim...
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WA public schools would be ‘decimated' by job cuts, unions say
Funding for some 800 jobs has been slashed from the WA education department's budget as part of a voluntary separation scheme, teaching and public sector unions say. The unions say the cuts will “decimate” public schools across the state. The McGowan government's Voluntary Targeted Separation Scheme, announced in September, aims to remo...
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Golfing electrician sacked for using Twisties packet to foil GPS detection
The Fair Work Commission has confirmed the sacking of an Electrical Trades Union (ETU) delegate who used DIY anti-surveillance techniques to play golf when he should have been at work. Water Corporation WA contractor Aroona Alliance sacked instrument electrical technician and ETU delegate Tom Colella after an anonymous tip-off, saying he had been p...
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FWO puts heat on advisors after landmark accessorial liability win
In a landmark decision on accessorial liability, the Federal Circuit Court has fined an accounting firm for helping an employer underpay workers. In a case brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), the court fined Ezy Accounting 123 Pty Ltd $53,880 for knowingly processing worker underpayments for its client, Japanese restaurant operator Blue Impre...
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Couple who fear people trafficking charges fail to suppress their names
The Federal Circuit Court has refused to suppress the names of two people charged with underpaying four overseas workers, despite their claims the release of their names could expose them to people trafficking charges in the Philippines. Tossing out an interlocutory application by Michael and Rowena Parkes, Judge John O'Sullivan said the “hor...
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MUA to be heard in diving EA despite no representation
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has won the right to be heard regarding an enterprise agreement (EA) covering diving and inspection workers, despite having no formal standing in the matter. The Fair Work Commission had earlier rejected the union's argument it should be granted standing on “procedural fairness” grounds. However, De...
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Editorial Team
Chief Journalist: Emily Woods. Journalists : Steve Andrew, Rajiv Maharaj. Managing Editor : Peter Schwab. Contact (02) 8587 7681 or peter.schwab@tr.com . Twitter : @WorkforceTR
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High Court rejects union bid to bypass RoE rules
Union officials must hold a valid federal right of entry (RoE) permit even when invited onto a site to assist a health and safety representative (HSR) under a state or territory occupational health and safety (OHS) law, the High Court has reaffirmed ( WF 13/11/2017 ). Refusing Construction Forestry Mining Energy (CFMEU) union official Michael Powel...
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Kathy Jackson pleads not guilty to union theft and fraud charges
Former Health Services Union boss Kathy Jackson has pleaded not guilty to 166 charges of theft and financial deception at Melbourne Magistrates Court on press day (November 20). Jackson, who appeared at court with her partner ex-Fair Work Commission Vice President Michael Lawler, will now embark on a criminal trial over allegations she misused $500...
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FWC extends controversial ‘shadow lawyers' ban
In a decision sure to raise the ire of industrial relations lawyers, the Fair Work Commission has applied the controversial Fitzgerald ‘shadow lawyers' decision ( WF 20/10/17 ) to the role of 'McKenzie friend' or advisor. It has barred law firm Lander & Rogers acting as a McKenzie friend in an unfair dismissal case where the employee is b...
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NRL referee seeks unfair dismissal
A National Rugby League (NRL) referee, who says he was sacked with short notice, is launching an unfair dismissal claim against the league. Unions NSW says referee Chris James, who officiated 228 games for the NRL over 10 years, was sacked by referee boss Tony Archer on October 7 “with no explanation and no opportunity to referee another matc...
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Jackson prosecutor lays cards - and car - on table
Kathy Jackson used several Health Services Union (HSU) issued credit cards to pay for lavish hotel rooms, a treadmill, furniture, flowers, overseas flights, electronics and art work, court documents obtained by Workforce Daily allege. The charge sheets allege Jackson is liable for about $470,000 spent on the cards between 2003 and 2011. The documen...
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Non-bargaining rep CFMEU wins appeal junking BOOT fail EA
In a significant decision on the right of non-bargaining unions to be heard in enterprise agreement (EA) approval matters, a Fair Work Commission full bench has junked an EA for failing the better-off-overall-test (BOOT). The bench - Vice President Adam Hatcher, Deputy President Alan Colman and Commissioner Katrina Harper-Greenwell - found workers ...
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Wage theft endemic for international students, backpackers
One third of backpackers and one quarter of international students earn less than $12 per hour in Australia, a report on wage theft has found. The Wage Theft in Australia study , released on press day (November 21), reveals Asian workers from China, Taiwan and Vietnam received lower wages than those from North America, Ireland and the United Kingdo...
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