Maurice Blackburn's head of employment and industrial law, Josh Bornstein, says he has written a book challenging employers' increasing suppression of free speech to highlight "a major flaw in our democracy" and "a major threat" to workers' rights.
The FWC has granted a supported bargaining authorisation that boosts an IEU push for a 25% pay rise for teachers in more than 100 NSW preschools, while employers told the tribunal the Fair Work Act changes have finally put them in a position to negotiate.
The FWC has refused an application from a BHP Hunter Valley coal mine to transfer an employee - and future workers with similar circumstances - from the company's WA iron ore operations.
In a significant ruling on what constitutes a "genuine" effort to reach agreement while bargaining, a FWC full bench has upheld a member's decision to grant a PABO to a union, despite it having met with the employer only once by the time its application came before the tribunal.
A FWC member has refused to be drawn into a dispute between a private rail freight operator and the RTBU over whether a remote locality allowance should be calculated on travel by road or "as the crow flies", concluding that she could not disentangle conflicting versions about its inclusion in an agreement.
A parliamentary inquiry has recommended the Albanese Government consider amending the Fair Work Act's right to request flexible work to ensure menopausal women can access it, while it also wants reproductive leave added to the NES and awards.
The Health Services Union has won 12 days paid reproductive leave in a deal for about 1600 disability service workers, in a "watershed" development it says could be expanded nationwide, as it bargains to entrench the entitlement in five further agreements.
A FWC senior member has warned Virgin Australia pilots that if they reject a recommended offer, including what the TWU says is a "historic" pay boost of up to 21% over three years and a sign-on bonus, it will create "further uncertainty and prevent substantive pay increases" for all.
