Parliamentarians leading tributes to former Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching have recalled her pride in and lessons learned from her brief time in the scandal-plagued Health Services Union, with a Coalition minister acknowledging the period had "hardened" her for politics.
In a case applying the High Court's new guidelines on contractors, a judge has rejected a worker's bid for leave, super and redundancy payments after finding he was not an employee despite averaging 38 hours a week over eight years for a solitary employer.
The ACTU will pursue a 5% increase across all award rates in this year's minimum wage review, arguing it is needed to compensate workers for cost of living pressures.
New Zealand's Ardern Labour Government has introduced legislation to enable occupational and industry-wide bargaining where unions can demonstrate worker support, or it passes a public interest test.
High Court employees accusing judges of inappropriate conduct can request formal external investigations, avoid further contact and if necessary secure an alternative position of equivalent status under a new policy on justices' workplace conduct.
Women are half as likely as men to engage in digital platform work and earn between 10% and 37% less when they do so, according to a Victorian Government-commissioned report that will inform State-based standards for the gig economy.
In a decision closely examining the FWC's powers to make scope orders, a full bench majority has found that an employer's failure to spell out classifications for a proposed agreement rendered the process "defective".
The FWC has ordered Qantas to reinstate a trainer accused of inappropriately staring at a female employee's breasts during a "distinguishably lewd" safety demonstration, while taking aim at a "ludicrous" video it used to demonstrate s-xual harassment.
With a federal election likely in May, IR Minister Michaelia Cash has thumbed her nose at Labor's plan to axe the Registered Organisations Commission, giving Mark Bielecki another two years as its leader.
