In a dispute that could extend to the eastern seaboard, major stevedore DP World says it will lock out its Fremantle workforce tomorrow and subcontract its work to competitor, Patrick.
In another instance of the FWBC's tougher stance under Nigel Hadgkiss, the inspectorate has begun Federal Court action against 23 workers accused of taking unprotected industrial action at the $1.8 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital project.
The Federal Court has refused to delay the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate's unlawful coercion case against the CFMEU over the 2012 Grocon blockade, finding that the company's contempt charges against the union in the Victorian Supreme Court are not criminal proceedings.
The ruling UK Conservative Party will lift the attendance threshold for strike ballots, impose a three month limit on industrial action and clamp down on picketing if it wins next year's election, while Britain's peak union body has called on the government to introduce online voting.
The Productivity Commission in a new report has repeated its call for governments to adopt Victorian-style procurement guidelines to regulate substandard IR conduct in the construction industry, but has warned they might need to be modified to avoid a clash with the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected stevedore DP World's bid for orders at its troubled Fremantle terminal, holding that while "the attributes of a cooperative and productive workforce may have been missing in the past", there was no evidence industrial action was taking place or planned.
The Abbott Government has given the WA Government and third parties the power to apply to the Fair Work Commission to suspend or terminate industrial action that is threatening the economy or endangering health and safety.
