Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has reiterated that Labor will reverse the FWC's "bad" decision to reduce weekend penalty rates if Labor takes power at the next federal election, while the ACTU's next secretary is calling for unions to join her in stopping the penalties changes "dead in their tracks".
It's the labour movement equivalent of the corporate skunkworks: a new union within the Australian Workers Union that doesn't look anything like its distinctly un-hip parent.
The AWU kicks off its biennial conference today, with new national secretary Daniel Walton seeking to revive falling membership and protect jobs in key industry segments rather than pursue mergers with other unions. Meanwhile, the FWC has been questioning the "integrity" of the union’s reported membership numbers for the five years to 2014.
The FWC has granted MUA WA branch secretary Chris Cain a new entry permit but has warned that any breaches would undermine his credibility, making it "extraordinarily difficult" for him to continue to be deemed a "fit and proper" person.
The ABCC has failed in an attempt to convince a full Federal Court to deny CFMEU construction and general division Queensland branch secretary Michael Ravbar an entry permit because of his responsibility for the union's "culture of wilful disobedience".
The Fair Work Commission's new investigation into the AWU's Victorian branch and its former secretary, Cesar Melhem, will extend to the notorious Cleanevent enterprise agreement.
