The Victorian Labor government has flagged it will aim for modest annual pay rises of 2%, setting the scene for an arm-wrestle with public sector unions in bargaining over a series of major enterprise agreements.
A university's decision to slash casual tutors' rates for online student support almost four years into an agreement has been endorsed by the FWC, despite the member observing that the deal's definition of tutorial harked back to his long-gone days at law school.
The NSW Supreme Court has refused to make an interim order to stop a major NSW local government authority from sacking its chief executive on the basis of a review of the "authenticity" of his claimed work experience, qualifications and job references.
The Police Federation has failed to convince the FWC that Victoria Police's plans to introduce afternoon shifts breach their agreement, or that the potential for frontline officers to "bear the brunt" of community dissatisfaction made the change unreasonable.
An FWC full bench has upheld a finding that Victoria Police lacked reasonable business grounds to refuse a long-serving detective's request, under a "right to flexible working arrangements" clause, for extra rest days as he makes a transition to retirement.
A council's imposition of a seven-month "leave blackout" period in a quest for greater efficiencies has run foul of the FWC, the tribunal finding its failure to consult workers over the policy breached best practice and notification provisions in its agreement.
An FWC full bench has used a workplace determination to call on the federal government to relax public sector bargaining guidelines, at the same time as it questioned the legal standing of a major department's decision to "go harder" after workers voted down multiple proposed deals.
The FWC on a rehearing has taken a different view of a beach inspector's claims that a supervisor authorised him to modify council cars, but found deficiencies with his employer's response that were "difficult to comprehend" given its HR expertise.
