The FWC will set a week of hearings at the end of February to hear a RAFFWU bid to quash Woolworths' nominally-expired 2012 deal before a newly voted-up replacement is approved, with the retailer and the SDA saying they need time to consult the rest of the workforce.
BP Australia is seeking to terminate the enterprise agreement for its oil refinery in Western Australia, in the latest case of a big employer using what the Federal Opposition has dubbed the "nuclear option" to break a bargaining deadlock.
The FWC says RAFFWU's objections to a Woolworths deal it expects to be voted up next week will delay its approval by "many months", as the tribunal orders the retailer to produce wage comparison documents to inform the union's bid to terminate the 2012 agreement.
An FWC full bench has quashed a deal after accepting CFMMEU submissions that it would have allowed workers to be covered by future agreements ahead of its nominal expiry date, but has stopped short of finding that the tribunal should have heard from the union at first instance.
Victoria University is trying to head off an NTEU bid for a protected action ballot order, after professional and academic staff voted down by 77% a deal labelled "one of the worst proposals" tabled in the latest tertiary education bargaining round.
Wages at Alcoa's Western Australian operations could fall by 60% if the company succeeds in terminating its enterprise agreement and no new deal is reached within six months, the Fair Work Commission has heard.
The ETU says a $40,000 penalty against an employer for failing to consult before engaging labour hire workers on inferior pay and conditions sends a message that pre-Building Code job security clauses in agreements are still enforceable.
An FWC full bench majority has refused to let the SDA amend appeals of two Aldi agreements to challenge the retailer's use of the word "leader" instead of "employer" in notices of representative rights, holding that the union must wait until the outcome of a judicial review on the same issue.
Alcoa says it would welcome an "alternative proposal" from the AWU after striking workers resoundingly rejected its latest offer, but it will not withdraw a bid to terminate the current deal.
As the FSU and Travel Money Oz head to conciliation next Thursday over claims that the currency exchange business owes workers for unpaid overtime including attendance at "buzz nights", the parties are already at loggerheads over award coverage.
