In a significant ruling on what constitutes a "genuine" effort to reach agreement while bargaining, a FWC full bench has upheld a member's decision to grant a PABO to a union, despite it having met with the employer only once by the time its application came before the tribunal.
A FWC member has refused to be drawn into a dispute between a private rail freight operator and the RTBU over whether a remote locality allowance should be calculated on travel by road or "as the crow flies", concluding that she could not disentangle conflicting versions about its inclusion in an agreement.
A parliamentary inquiry has recommended the Albanese Government consider amending the Fair Work Act's right to request flexible work to ensure menopausal women can access it, while it also wants reproductive leave added to the NES and awards.
The Health Services Union has won 12 days paid reproductive leave in a deal for about 1600 disability service workers, in a "watershed" development it says could be expanded nationwide, as it bargains to entrench the entitlement in five further agreements.
A Federal Court judge has dealt a blow to three workers' pursuit of an embassy over alleged sham contracts, closely examining the "dignity, immunities and privileges of foreign States under Australian law" before overturning a lower court's rejection of attempts to bin the case.
A FWC senior member has warned Virgin Australia pilots that if they reject a recommended offer, including what the TWU says is a "historic" pay boost of up to 21% over three years and a sign-on bonus, it will create "further uncertainty and prevent substantive pay increases" for all.
The Federal Court this Friday will hear the HSU's urgent interlocutory application to put its Victorian No 1 branch into administration, after the union filed claims that branch leader Diana Asmar threatened to kill, sack and expose an employee who allegedly blew the whistle on her alleged misappropriation of funds.
A full Federal Court has overturned a ruling that Sydney Trains unlawfully discriminated against a trainee driver it sacked for failing to disclose that she had ADHD and autism, finding a judge relied on a "number of interrelated assumptions" unsupported by evidence.
The FWC has extended time for a worker's one-day-late unfair dismissal claim, finding his employer's "misleading" letter confirming his sacking resulted in his representative miscalculating the deadline.
