ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence today argued that the Fair Pay Commission should not discount any increases in its forthcoming minimum wages determination against the Government's promised tax cuts, or any possible superannuation changes.
For the first time under Work Choices, a court has found an IR consultant jointly liable with an employer for applying duress to an employee to make an AWA.
A prominent Perth builder who exploited 15 vulnerable subclass 457 guest workers, mostly from the Philippines, when he deliberately breached AWA approval and lodgement obligations has been ordered to pay a record $174,000 in penalties.
Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital has been ordered to reinstate a pathology courier it sacked after an internal investigation wrongly accused her of assaulting a fellow employee during a rostering dispute, the AIRC has decided.
There are no new AWAs or ITEAs, employees determine the type of collective agreement they want, the role of unions is recognised and agencies have to bargain genuinely, under the new bargaining guidelines for the public sector.
Labour productivity increased by 0.7% in 2007, according to the ABS, while the equal opportunity agency says the gender pay gap is smaller among the 99 women's employers of choice than for other employers.
DEEWR estimates only 5% to 7% of employees are covered by AWAs, saying the Workplace Authority has overstated the rate by assuming that no affected workers resigned, were promoted or dismissed.
About 3,000 coal mining workers are voting on an agreement between the CFMEU (mining & energy division) and the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance for the company's central Queensland coal sites that delivers a 5% wage rise for each of its three years, a $3,500 one-off payment, significantly improved super, and a $5,000-a-year increase to the production bonus.
Employers are set to face higher superannuation demands from unions in coming enterprise bargaining rounds, as the ACTU executive meeting today votes on a resolution to seek 12% contributions by 2012.
John Holland says in a submission to the federal government that after a year in the Comcare scheme, the company has improved its safety performance and achieved significant savings. It also seeks to debunk what it says are myths about Comcare - that it only covers low-risk industries and that it has fewer inspectors than state and territory schemes.
