The FWC has reduced Sunday penalty rates in the hospitality, retail, fast food and pharmacy sectors and pared-back public holiday penalties in five awards, in a landmark ruling today by a five-member full bench.
The rapid rise of the "gig" economy has "normalised" sham contracting and exploitation of young workers, according to a submission to a Senate inquiry into corporate avoidance of the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered BlueScope Steel to consult with a group of maintenance workers at its Port Kembla steelworks, after finding it failed to comply with the terms of a landmark 2015 enterprise agreement that reduced wages and reformed work practices to keep the plant open.
The FWC has ordered Australia Post to allow Employment Minister Michaelia Cash to inspect the report of a confidential investigation into an employee's allegations against former CEPU leader Jim Metcher, after rejecting claims the document is privileged.
The Commonwealth Bank has pledged to meet any shortfall in superannuation obligations owed to thousands of part-time workers, after being queried by the FSU.
The FWC will allow the ABCC to include material the CFMEU claims is prejudicial in its application to axe the entry permits of three officials who allegedly abused their rights when they visited Lend Lease sites in 2014.
The FWC has rejected an employer's jurisdictional objections to hearing the dismissal appeal of an employee over the high-income cap who worked on overseas assignments, finding that while he fell outside the enterprise agreement he was covered by the industry award.
An FWC full bench has highlighted the limits of permissible ex parte communication between parties to agreements and tribunal members, in a ruling in which it found that such exchanges denied procedural fairness to the union objecting to a deal's approval.
The FWC has approved a new agreement that permits poultry giant Inghams to suspend workers without pay for up to three days during investigations into misconduct, after it found any detriment when compared with the award is outweighed by the deal's benefits.
The Turnbull Government's national construction code is seeking to break the "cartel-like behaviour" between head contractors and construction unions, according to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, but legal expert Andrew Stewart says building companies are facing "a complete mess".