Reduction in JobKeeper recipients won't lift unemployment, says Treasury; Men more likely to seek early super release; Court reserves on COVID-19 regulation challenge; and NRL refs sideline FWC case.
The FWC has found it unreasonable of Qantas to only pay the equivalent of two fortnightly JobKeeper payments to a monthly paid manager who worked for part of the period, in a decision the ASU wants applied to the rest of its workforce.
The CFMMEU's court challenge to the COVID-19 reduction in notice periods for agreement changes opened this morning, with the union opposing IR Minister Christian Porter's bid to admit evidence on 30 recent variation applications, countering that he could deal with it by issuing a media release.
The Federal Court has issued orders that the administrators of Virgin Australia will not be personally liable for any debts to the Commonwealth incurred through the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme.
Qantas has failed in its challenge to FWC powers to review how it applied the JobKeeper scheme to a worker claiming he was short-changed, a full bench finding among other reasons that the airline's characterisation of the dispute was "somewhat artificial".
In a matter a judge has speculated could have "wide ramifications" regarding stand-downs, Qantas and Jetstar have won an injunction stopping the FWC from arbitrating a dispute concerning hundreds of engineers rendered idle by the pandemic.
More than 200,000 award-covered fast food industry workers face temporary cuts to part-time hours and reduced overtime penalties under fiercely-contested, pandemic-related changes approved by an FWC full bench.
Large numbers of retail employees covered by agreements approved in the second half of last year face wage freezes if employers succeed in their campaign for a coronavirus-driven pause in minimum pay rises such as that adopted during the GFC, new Attorney-General's Department data on bargained wage rises reveals.
Unions are calling on Qantas to permit sick workers to continue accessing paid personal leave entitlements while stood down due to the coronavirus, despite the Federal Court ruling today that it is not obliged to do so.
National Rugby League referees have for the second time in two years found themselves before the FWC as they contest a decision to cut from two to one the number officiating games from the competition's planned re-start on May 28.
