Editor : Rajiv Maharaj. Chief Journalist: Emily Woods. Managing Editor : Peter Schwab. Contact (02) 8587 7681 or peter.schwab@tr.com . Twitter : @WorkforceTR
Editorial Team
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Domino's cops bargaining order
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered Domino's Pizza to bargain in good faith with the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), postponing a vote on a proposed enterprise agreement (EA). Domino's is negotiating a new EA with 20,000 workers across 660 stores, after 27 expired agreements were terminated by the FWC in November ( WF 3/11/17 )....
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Forget UK law - Australian Uber drivers are not workers
A Melbourne Uber driver has lost an unfair dismissal claim after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled he was not anemployee within the meaning of the Fair Work Act. Notably the FWC rejected the driver's argument a recent United Kingdom decision where an Uber driver was found to be a worker for the purposes of the country's Employment Rights (ER) Ac...
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Murdoch Uni test case alleges union social media posts were coercion
Murdoch University is suing the head of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) WA branch Gabe Gooding in a test case exploring when and if social media posts can amount to coercion under s343 of the Fair Work Act. The case is being heard by Justice John Gilmour in the Federal Court. The university claimsGooding and industrial officer Alex Cou...
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WA reviews ‘outdated' IR system
The WA Government has received 64 written submissions to its industrial relations system review that is designed to ensure it is contemporary, fair and accessible, the govt says. It is the first full review of the state's IR system in 16 years during which time the employment environment has changed with a majority of WA workers now employed by sma...
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Horror crash derails NSW Govt desperate bid to stop rail strike
NSW Government talks with the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW branch to avert a full-blown strike this Australia Day long weekend were suspended today after a horrifying train crash at Richmond Station in Sydney's north-west. NSW transport minister Andrew Constance and RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens were in eleventh hour talks to stop a plann...
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Truck operator weighs in on driver safety
A major employer of truck drivers has written an open letter to the Prime Minister about the “dire road safety problem”, while the Transport Workers' Union (TWU) has accused the govt of having “blood on its hands” over a rise in truck crashes (below) . Toll Group managing director Michel Byrne said Australia called on the go...
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Don't play ‘Russian roulette' with drug testing: DP Sams
In a significant decision on workplace drug and alcohol testing, the Fair Work Commission has warned employees they are playing “Russian roulette” if they think passing less sophisticated on-site urine tests is enough and they won't be caught out by further tests using superior equipment in laboratories. Deputy President Peter Sams gave...
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Editorial Team
Editor : Rajiv Maharaj. Chief Journalist: Emily Woods. Managing Editor : Peter Schwab. Contact (02) 8587 7681 or peter.schwab@tr.com . Twitter : @WorkforceTR
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Tribunal ends Fiji airport lockout after Aust and NZ unions protest
More than 200 airport workers in Fiji will return to work after a month-long lockout. On Dec 16, Air Terminal Services (ATS) locked out the workers at Fiji's main airport, including check-in staff, baggage handlers, engineers and caterers, after they attended a stop-work meeting over alleged mismanagement and poor conditions. Unions claimed an 11-y...
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Pregnant worker not warned before sacking
A travel consultant sacked without warning while pregnant has been awarded more than $19,000 in compensation, in part as she “is a victim of a general reluctance to hire pregnant people”. After three years employment Green Travel Service dismissed Bernice Zhang on September 14 last year citing a “constant lack of performance”...
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FWC bench: EA clause restricting casuals not a permitted matter
In a significant decision hailed by employers (see below) , a Fair Work Commission full bench has upheld a decision allowing cardboard and packaging giant Visy to refuse to convert labour hire casuals to permanent jobs. The bench - Deputy Presidents Val Gostencnik and Peter Anderson and Commissioner Tony Saunders - said Cmr Sarah McKinnon's October...
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FWO slams unpaid ‘work experience'
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has hit out at a Brisbane labour hire business for using 10 employees as a source of free labour by calling it “work experience”, and then profiting from their work. “Unpaid placements or ‘internships' are legitimate in certain cases - for example, where they are part of an approved program, suc...
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No preference for Aussies over foreign visa works in redundancies
In decision likely to raise the ire of blue collar unions, the Fair Work Commission has ruled Australian workers do not have preference over foreign skilled-visa workers for redeployment in cases of genuine redundancy. Commissioner Geoffrey Bull made the decision in an unfair dismissal case brought by search and rescue crewman Paul Rowland and crew...
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Editorial Team
Editor : Rajiv Maharaj. Chief Journalist: Emily Woods. Managing Editor : Peter Schwab. Contact (02) 8587 7681 or peter.schwab@tr.com . Twitter : @WorkforceTR
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Unions appeal ATO ‘hot-desk' decision
The unions representing Australian Tax Office (ATO) workers is appealing a Fair Work Commission (FWC) decision that allows the agency to roll out “hot-desking” across its offices. The Australian Services Union (ASU) and Community and Public Services Union (CPSU) argued the ATO was prohibited from adopting hot-desking for non-fieldwork s...
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... as Harmers files s418 stop application so lawyers can get to work on time
In an extraordinary twist in the Sydney Trains dispute (see above) , prominent workplace law firm Harmers has applied to the Fair Work Commission to stop the planned industrial action. Harmers said it was acting on its “own initiative” and that it had “legal standing in this dispute because, under the legislation, the firm would h...
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Sydney train chaos to come as RTBU members knock back deal ...
Sydney Trains workers have overwhelmingly rejected a NSW Government upgraded pay deal and will proceed with full-blown industrial action including a potentially crippling strike on Monday. Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) members voted on the state govt's offer by SMS overnight. The vote was framed as an interim one - accept the in-principle offer an...
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RAFFWU says Domino's EA to fail, as union to fry more fast food giants
A “tsunami” of issues will prevent Domino's Pizza's new enterprise agreement (EA) from being implemented, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) says. About 20,000 workers began voting on the EA yesterday (Jan 23), after a tumultuous few weeks of bargaining that saw the Fair Work Commission (FWC) step in and order the fast food...
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RAFFWU celebrates 1 st birthday with membership growing steadily
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) has celebrated its first birthday at the end of 2017, having started as an alternative to theSDA for retail and fast food workers in November 2016 ( WF 25/11/2016 ). Membership is steadily growing, now just over 500 workers, with a majority employed by retail giants Coles and Woolworths, national secr...
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