The AWU has withdrawn its majority support application for Rio Tinto's Paraburdoo iron ore mines, after the company revealed it had 200 more workers than understood by the union, leaving it without a majority.
Union industrial officers are increasingly being supplanted by external IR lawyers, with the phenomenon most pronounced in "organising" unions, according to the principal of a boutique union-clientele law firm.
The Minns Government has passed major reforms that establish anti-bullying and s-xual harassment jurisdictions in the IRC and allow workers to seek preventative orders and up to $100,000 in damages, while also significantly lifting the small claims cap.
The Federal Court has ousted HSU secretary Diana Asmar and has put her Victorian No 1 branch wholly in the hands of administrator Charlie Donnelly until a fresh leadership team is elected, as early as the middle of next year.
The MEU says its members at a Peabody underground coal mine near Wollongong have been "blindsided" by the company's week-long lockout of 160 mineworkers, saying it is a disproportionate response to limited protected action.
This week's High Court ruling upholding the CFMEU construction and general division's administration confirms the legislation does not ban political communications or donations, despite assurances made during its passage through Parliament.
CFMEU construction and general division administrator Mark Irving says today's High Court decision upholding the administration "paves the way for the greater systemic reforms" needed for the union and the broader industry, while the Albanese Government says it will give him "all necessary support".
Documents released under FoI laws reveal that Tasmania opposed the January appointment of MEU general president Tony Maher as chair of Safe Work Australia, claiming it harboured "significant concerns" about his suitability, while Queensland also aired its worries about his independence.
Shelving a major retail award conditions buy-out bid while the Albanese Government pursues penalty rate reforms would be a dereliction of duty, the Australian Retailers Association has told the FWC.
A 48-hour midwives strike would have endangered the lives of mothers and babies, the FWC has ruled, in newly-published reasons explaining why it suspended the stoppage.
