A former AWU Victorian branch organiser has denied responsibility for a side deal with a cleaning company to pay an annual $25,000 "service fee" to the union while casual employees missed out on penalty rates.
The construction firm Downer EDI paid $25,000 to help end a "community picket" of a heliport being used to fly workers to a Bass Strait gas project, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
The AWU's Victorian branch received money for running training sessions for employers which was recorded in its accounts as membership dues, the Heydon Royal Commission has heard.
The Heydon Royal Commission has today asked for further submissions on the introduction of US-style anti-racketeering laws "to combat unlawful activities" in the construction industry, while noting it would constitute "a significant step requiring detailed and careful consideration".
The FSU's national executive "intervened" to stymie national secretary Fiona Jordan's plan to engage an external investigator to examine a senior industrial officer's bullying complaint against assistant national secretary Geoff Derrick, a FWC decision has revealed.
The Heydon Royal Commission will next week issue a discussion paper that will canvass whether penalties for union officials who breach their duties should be brought into line with those for company directors under the Corporations Act.
Former NSW ETU leader Bernie Rordan says he was warned that litigation by a fellow union secretary could prevent his appointment to the Fair Work Commission in 2012.
The Heydon Royal Commission will consider the allegations made against former HSU leader Kathy Jackson later this year, once the Federal Court rules in civil proceedings brought by her former union.
The NSW Public Service Association says its axing of an assistant secretary position has boosted its war chest to fight the state government's electricity privatisation plans.
The FWC has issued a new, unconditional entry permit to the CFMEU construction and general division's Queensland leader, rejecting the building watchdog's argument that it should be withheld because of union conduct that has attracted more than $900,000 in fines during his eight years as "ringmaster".
