FWC President Adam Hatcher will conduct a directions hearing on Friday to consider an SDA bid to lift award junior rates for under-18 workers and abolish them altogether for those 18 and above, with the union arguing that age should not be a criterion for setting pay.
The FWC is seeking feedback on proposed undertakings that expunge an Aldi agreement's labour hire clauses, deemed invalid by the SDA because they try to circumvent same-job, same-pay provisions recently introduced into the Fair Work Act.
BHP has failed in another bid to win approval of a deal for its in-house labour hire arm, after it gave workers an "upbeat" deep-dive on the benefits, failed to explain detriments and left them in the dark on pay.
Annual growth in private sector pay has gone backwards for the first time since the height of the pandemic, according to ABS data released today, but it continues to outpace inflation.
The ACTU has withdrawn its request to intervene in a MEU "same job same, pay" test case aiming to lift the pay of Workpac labour hire mineworkers after the employers, host employer and Ai Group confirmed they do not oppose the application.
Employers have succeeded in varying an award clause a FWC full bench agrees could produce the "absurd" result of workers receiving five times the prescribed minimum rates.
A FWC full bench has made a provisional ruling in favour of ensuring the lowest pay classification in modern awards is used only for a short period of induction and training, making the second lowest rate the benchmark for continuing employment.
Queensland builders have warned that the adoption of union-backed standard "best practice" pay and conditions for major State Government-funded construction projects will hinder productivity, cause delays and escalate costs.
The FWC has expressed dismay at a large aged care employer's "shift bidding" system in which it offers part-time workers extra hours only at ordinary pay, recommending instead that each employee get a chance to cap how many such shifts they are prepared to work without receiving overtime rates.
The FWC has today launched the next stage of its gender pay equity research, in which it will examine a dozen awards covering highly-feminised sectors to uncover indicators of gender-based undervaluation of minimum rates, ahead of the 2023-24 annual wage review.
