A 63-year-old worker's summary "time theft" sacking has been upheld after the FWC ruled that his multinational employer's HR team lacked the firepower to argue its case against a union's experienced industrial advocate.
The FWC has rejected a glass manufacturer's claims that it accidentally halved rest breaks in a proposed deal, dismissing the employer's approval application because it failed to adequately explain it and other deficient clauses to the workers who voted for it.
McDonald's told workers they could exchange rest breaks for a soft drink or going to the toilet, according to allegations set out in a new SDA "mega" case against the fast food giant that seeks $250 million in compensation from it and more than 300 franchisees.
The FSU is suing the Commonwealth Bank in the Federal Court for allegedly denying retail banking employees 10-minute rest breaks, claiming it owes at least $45 million in backpay to about 3000 workers.
McDonald's has been hit with a second Federal Court case over its alleged failure to provide paid rest breaks, with a RAFFWU-backed class action claiming thousands of past and present workers are potentially owed millions over the "systemic" issue.
The RTBU is prosecuting a Melbourne tram company and its chief operations officer for allegedly misrepresenting drivers' rights to unpaid meal breaks when they are running behind timetable.
A court has today praised RAFFWU for its service of the national interest in pursuing a McDonald's franchisee and securing $82,000 in fines against if for sinister, cruel, coercive threats via Facebook posts to deny its predominantly young workforce drink and toilet breaks required under the fast food chain's agreement.
A full Federal Court has reproached a State employment tribunal member for his tardiness in determining appropriate penalties for an underpaying employer, suggesting that had no fine been imposed it might have been spared considering an unremarkable appeal involving "modest" sums.
A McDonald's franchise that says it can otherwise stop workers from going to the toilet if it provides a 10-minute paid break contained in their agreement has told a court that Queensland's WHS Act does not entitle employees "to be protected from cruel and inhumane working conditions".
RAFFWU is suing a McDonald's franchise that allegedly required workers to find a replacement if they took sick leave, told them they had to call in sick by 10pm the night before scheduled shifts and denied them proper breaks.
