New ACTU pitch for vehicle allowances; Delayed CPI move for expense-related allowances; Further reporting extension for WFH inquiry; and Labour law conference seeking papers.
The Ai Group is asking the FWC's expert panel to restrict pay rises for minimum wage and award-reliant workers to an inflation-lagging 3.9%, branding the ACTU's revised claim for a 6% increase "reckless".
The ACTU has upped the pay rise it is seeking in the annual wage review from 5% to 6% in response to inflationary pressures flowing from the Middle East war.
Growth in private sector rates of pay excluding bonuses has eased to 3.2% a year in trend terms, well below the 4.6% rise in consumer prices fuelled by the Middle East war, according to new ABS data.
In a significant decision on the meaning of "full rate of pay" under same-job, same-pay laws and the FWC's powers to arbitrate related disputes, a Commission full bench has found that a big mining company must count service prior to SJSP orders when determining on-hire workers' classifications.
In a case testing the extent to which employers can withhold pay during protected industrial action, the Federal Court today conducted a hearing into the AWU's claim that Chevron unlawfully deducted loading and allowances from workers during stoppages at its WA facilities.
Mining unions have asked Fortescue to begin bargaining for replacement deals for two barebones non-union agreements covering iron ore workers at four Pilbara sites.
The FWC has refused to stay same-job, same-pay orders pending an appeal in June, because it would deny new workers increased pay, after poultry processing company Bartter switched labour-hire providers shortly after the tribunal made orders.
In what the NTEU has called a "new low" in tertiary education sector underpayment cases, Torrens University is seeking permission from the High Court to challenge last month's full court finding that casual academics should be paid for marking assessments not directly related to particular lectures or tutorials.
Qantas long-haul pilots have rejected a proposed deal that would have lifted their pay by about 25% over four years, after their unions split on whether to support the offer.
