An internal power struggle is underway at the small but industrially significant aviation union, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association, with Federal Court documents revealing efforts to curtail the federal secretary's role.
The AWU has abandoned a long history of going it alone in Queensland, re-affiliating with the State's peak union body, while the Mining and Energy Union has also returned to the fold after a shorter absence.
Long-serving RTBU NSW branch leader Alex Claassens is set to become national secretary following the resignation of Mark Diamond, whom the organisation credits with "transforming" it and resisting Coalition attempts to thwart the union movement.
The Albanese Government will introduce laws to allow the CFMEU's manufacturing division to demerge if members vote for it, with the ACTU claiming "Mr Setka's personal grudges" have led to an exit push that "cannot be resolved any other way".
The ACTU's senior leadership team has today been re-elected unopposed, while unions have agreed to a 3% annual increase in their affiliation fees over the next three years.
The TWU says it will "deploy significant and focussed resources" on a campaign to recruit more gig workers, as the FWC prepares to exercise its new powers to set minimum standards in that sector and in road transport.
The Federal Court has thrown out a "time barred" former ROC case accusing a MEU mining and energy division president of misusing his union credit card to cover a series of private expenses in the 2016 financial year, while also finding no evidence of dishonesty.
CFMEU national secretary Christy Cain has given notice that he will leave the role in June, paving the way for further leadership change at the militant union covering construction and maritime workers.
Former ACTU leader Greg Combet will replace former Coalition treasurer Peter Costello as chair of the Future Fund Board of Guardians, necessitating him stepping down from his leadership of the Federal Government's "just transition" agency, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced this morning.
