Ahead of the May 3 poll, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is supporting a real pay increase in this year's minimum wage case, going further than his 2022 election call for the FWC to ensure workers' pay not "go backwards".
RAFFWU has asked a full Federal Court today to void the Woolworths "rotten SDA sellout deal" that it claimed stripped workers' rights, froze wages and cut conditions.
Mining unions have applied to the FWC for a majority support determination to force Rio Tinto to the bargaining table with workers at its Paraburdoo iron ore operations, while an IR researcher says in a forthcoming book that Pilbara workers' ambitious demands at the height of union power more than four decades ago can provide lessons for unions today.
The Ai Group has hinted at a potential "consensus" in a FWC-initiated case with economy-wide implications to consider inserting WFH provisions in the clerks award, while expressing concern that it would be "unfair" to require submissions ahead of results of a survey on the issue, with the tribunal now persuaded to ditch the deadline and hold a conference.
In a decision upending unions' understanding of what constitutes the base rate of pay under the pilots award and undoing an underpayments claim, the FWC has held that it does not include general wage-related allowances even where they form part of the minimum payment.
Higher education awards covering academic and other staff have been varied to tighten restrictions around the sector's reliance on fixed-term contracts.
The 25% exemption rate the Ai Group has proposed for an estimated one million workers covered by the clerical award "does not adequately compensate" for the loss of penalty rates and overtime, according to ASU national secretary Emeline Gaske.
The Australian Industry Group has expressed dismay at the "skewed" drafting of a FWC survey aiming to gather information on how the clerical award currently impedes or enables working from home.
Interested parties have until 4pm next Monday to comment on draft employer and employee surveys commissioned as a key component of the FWC's bid to develop an award clause removing impediments to working from home.
