In what unions have decried as a "hyper-aggressive" industrial relations tactic, Shell Australia has begun shutting down its massive Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility after receiving notice of new work bans covering the berthing and loading of tankers.
RAFFWU says it is seeking to replicate a Sydney bookstore deal that it describes as the "most significant" retail agreement in Australia, the FWC approving it this week after the employer had a second shot at explaining it to members.
Qantas engineers are to consider strike action after hitting the airline with a claim for a 12% pay increase under a one-year agreement, arguing it equates to a "modest" increase of 3% per annum taking into account a four-year pay freeze.
Maritime unions have sought to ramp up pressure on Australia's biggest tugboat operator Svitzer by claiming its attempts to terminate its current agreement after two years of deadlocked bargaining are an "embarrassment" to its parent company and in breach of global environmental, social and corporate governance commitments.
An unregistered union accusing major employers of refusing to include it in bargaining meetings with its rival warns it undermines collective bargaining, after the FWC this month supported Coles' decision not to include a paid bargaining agent in meetings with the UWU.
A paid bargaining agent has failed to force Coles to give him a seat at the bargaining table with the UWU, after the FWC rejected his bid for a bargaining order, finding the Act doesn't require a single bargaining unit and that the supermarket giant provided "clear and sensible" reasons for separate negotiations.
NSW public school teachers will strike next Wednesday over "unmanageable" workloads and a "contemptuous" 2.04% salary cap proposed in the face of teacher shortages, with their union also warning that visits by State Government MPs will prompt walkouts.
The FWC has rejected a bus company’s objection to the TWU choosing a ballot agent with no experience in the transport industry, finding that the Commission cannot dictate the use of one over another.
The AMWU has accused the Perth-based newspaper group controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes of engaging in a "war of attrition" against its printers through a long-running lockout during stalled enterprise bargaining.
An "excellent" expert's assessment that tugboat masters' planned protected action could cost the economy hundreds of millions has proved instrumental in convincing the FWC to suspend nationwide strikes.
