The RTBU and ASU will today test whether employers can make deals directly with their employees after the termination of protected action to bypass the subsequent 21 days of negotiations and avoid the ensuing arbitration of an agreement.
The FWC's first intractable bargaining declaration looks set to referred tomorrow for arbitration following a fortnight of further negotiations between the UFU's Victorian branch and Fire Rescue Victoria.
The Australian Education Union told the FWC this afternoon that its revised application for a multi-employer bargaining authorisation for 12 TAFE institutes in Victoria might assuage employer concerns.
Union members employed by Chevron have endorsed draft enterprise agreements covering three major gas projects and agreed to suspend planned industrial action due to resume tomorrow.
Sydney Water is facing potential industrial action as early as tomorrow, with unions this morning expected to tell the FWC that members have rejected the tribunal's recommended deal to settle their bargaining dispute.
Chevron is accusing unions of ignoring a FWC recommendation to halt industrial action set to begin on Thursday while negotiations continue today before Commissioner Bernie Riordan to iron out differences that emerged after the parties reached a settlement on September 22.
The Federal Court will this afternoon hear an urgent bid by transport and logistics company Qube to halt an alleged unlawful secondary boycott by the MUA as part of its planned protected action from Sunday at stevedore DP World's four container terminals.
DP World is calling on the MUA to call off further protected action at the company's container terminals from Sunday to enable further bargaining negotiations, warning it is actively looking into "alternatives" to maintain services.
Apple has won approval of a new agreement to replace a 2014 deal targeted for termination by RAFFWU, after a full bench rejected the unregistered union's claims that its part-time provisions create a "flexi-insecure" arrangement akin to casual employment.
A FWC member is recommending "a good deal" to settle a Sydney Water bargaining dispute that would boost wages by 11%, provide a one-off $2000 cost of living payment and facilitate a new classification framework to bust through the utility's "glass ceiling".
