In a precedent-setting decision significantly recalibrating leverage positions of employers and unions during industrial disputes, the High Court has ruled unions cannot claim protected action status during bargaining if they have breached any order by the Fair Work Commission. The High Court appeal - considered a ‘test case' on the extent of...
Unions industrially crippled in landmark High Court decision
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Reinstatement not possible due to ‘hostile work environment'
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has decided against reinstating a laboratory technician who was unfairly dismissed, as a productive relationship with her employer could not be restored. In what was described as a “passionate” plea for reinstatement, Alex Dai told the cmn she would renounce her Australian citizenship and return to China w...
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Drivers say safety not Tip Top
Drivers in Tip Top's supply chain have said they're “at breaking point” so are taking their fight against the abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) to Canberra. “We're working long hours six and seven days a week and Tip Top are cutting our rates. At the same time costs and overheads are going up,” Tip To...
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NSW Labor commits to domestic violence leave
The NSW Labor party says its state's workers will gain access to 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave before others because it will legislate for it before Federal Labor. On Tuesday (White Ribbon Day WF 05/12/2017 ) Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten announced his party would legislate 10 days of domestic and family violence leave if it w...
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Return to work best remedy for failed bullying claimant
Bunnings has been urged to engage in “constructive” return-to-work dialogue following a failed attempt by a worker to appeal the Fair Work Commission's dismissal of his workplace bullying claim relating to his supervisor's comments about his disability ( WF 21/7/2017 ) . The full bench - Vice President Adam Hatcher, Deputy President Mel...
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Zebra devours legal lion a second time
In a follow-up to their October 2017 ‘rumble in the jungle' ( WF 3/11/2017 ), a law firm zebra has devoured the more senior lion in a Fair Work Commission full bench rematch over whether the firm should pay compensation to a lawyer it wrongly sacked. Go To Court Lawyers had sought permission from the bench to appeal an order by Commissioner J...
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ACTU says IR landscape skewed in favour of employers
The Australian Council of Trades Unions (ACTU) said the High Court decision ( above ) has made a “serious power imbalance” between employers and workers “even worse”. “The High Court has described working people withdrawing their labour as a ‘privilege', whereas in most countries, as it has been in Australia, it ...
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FWC can help close pay gap
WFD: Australia's award wage system is partly to blame for the gender pay gap as it “systemically” puts women who rely on the minimum wage at a disadvantage, a Melbourne Institute study has revealed. The study found there is a “wage penalty” for working in jobs commonly held by women, and the Fair Work Commission (FWC) could ...
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CFMEU set to cop big fine for barring workers with dues arrears
WFD: The construction union is set to be slapped with more hefty fines after the Federal Court found the union and one of its shop stewards unlawfully told workers they had to pay their membership arrears before they could work. In proceedings brought by the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), Justice Richard Tracey found the Co...
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ALP power couple mastermind union official's sacking: FWC
WFD: The Fair Work Commission has made adverse findings against the Health Workers Union (HWU) in an intriguing case involving ALP power couple Dianne and David Asmar. The HWU is the Health Services Union's formerly scandal-plagued Victorian branch. Deputy President Anne Gooley found HWU secretary Dianne Asmar "directed" the sacking of organiser Se...
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Labor promises 10 days family violence leave
WFD: Labor says it will legislate 10 days of domestic and family violence leave, if it wins the next federal election. The White Ribbon Day announcement (December 5) doubled the five days that had been Labor's policy position last election. "We've listened to victims, frontline workers, business, and organisations that deal daily with domestic viol...
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'Thousands' of jobs created by Amazon arrival
WFD: Amazon says it will create "thousands of new jobs", as the online retailer officially announced its Australian website had launched on press day (December 5). Amazon provides an online "marketplace" for small to large Australian retailers, selling products ranging from clothing, to electronics and home wares. The company says its workforce now...
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Worker swaps jurisdictions but still loses general protections claim
WFD: A worker whose dismissal application had been labelled "doomed to fail" by Fair Work Commission (FWC) Deputy President Peter Sams in June has lost a fresh attempt to try her case before the Federal Circuit Court (FCC). Zeena Fadheel has been involved in "a number of claims" against her former employer, including an anti-bullying application, a...
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NT jobs created by space station while Canberra stoppages continue
WFD: About 67 new jobs are promised for the Northern Territory when Australia's first commercial space centre is constructed in North East Arnhem Land. Rocket company Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) and the Gumatj traditional land owners have secured 275 hectares to establish the station on the Gove Peninsula, the NT Government has announced. Chi...
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Threats referred to police as VICT Webb Dock illegal picket continues
Victoria International Container Terminals (VICT) says it is tallying up a damages bill to the tune of $100m plus as an alleged illegal picket at its Webb Dock container terminals continued at press time. The company confirmed the picket - allegedly masterminded by the Maritime Union of Australia with support from the Construction Forestry Mining E...
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Penalty rate amendments pass Senate
On Monday (December 4) the Senate has passed a Government bill with Opposition amendments to reverse the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) cuts to penalty rates, with Labor, Greens and crossbench support. The amended bill will now go back to the House of Representatives (HoR), with Labor urging Nationals MP George Christensen to maintain his support for...
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Union launches website for hosp workers to 'rate their bosses'
Hospitality workers are being encouraged to rate and review their employers on a new "TripAdvisor-style website" launched by United Voice (UV) on press day. However the body representing hospitality employers, Restaurant and Catering Australia (RCA), has slammed the website, saying it is a "trolling tool" for disgruntled former employees. UV says t...
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HuffPost says staff consulted
Huffington Post Australia says the company consulted with staff "at the earliest opportunity", when it announced an end to its joint venture with Fairfax Media last week. HuffPost announced on November 29 it was ending its two-year joint venture with Fairfax, and redundancies would occur. On Friday Workforce Daily reported HuffPost workers had "exp...
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NSW rail workers to vote on strikes
About 10,000 railway workers are voting on strike action after the Fair Work Commission approved NSW rail unions' application to vote on industrial action over "poor pay and conditions". Unions NSW assistant secretary Thomas Costa said the protected action ballot was an opportunity for Sydney Trains (ST) and NSW Trains (NSWT) workers to "send a str...
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Editorial Team
Chief Journalist: Emily Woods. Journalists : Steve Andrew, Rajiv Maharaj, John Reynolds. Managing Editor : Peter Schwab. Contact (02) 8587 7681 or peter.schwab@tr.com . Twitter : @WorkforceTR
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