Two unions are poised to lodge legal challenges to penalty rate cuts as early as tomorrow after the Fair Work Commission issued determinations on transitional arrangements in the retail and hospitality sectors.
The HSU says it is unlikely to pursue former national secretary and ex-Labor MP Craig Thomson for the repayment of about $378,000 because it would incur further legal costs with little chance of recovering the money.
The Federal Labor Opposition has condemned the threat by Victorian CFMEU leader John Setka to campaign against ABCC inspectors in their neighbourhoods, comments which have since been referred to the police.
Loy Yang power station and mine workers have conceded the possibility of forced redundancies and increased use of contractors in exchange for annual 5% pay rises in voting up a new enterprise agreement with operators AGL Energy.
The ABCC has amended its right of entry advice to employers after being accused by the CFMEU this week of publishing inaccurate material that could foment disputes.
Senator Nick Xenophon has won support for a Senate inquiry that will investigate enterprise agreements by big corporations that trade off penalty rates.
The prosecution has reworked its case against former HSU leader Kathy Jackson, who now faces 164 charges that mostly relate to alleged theft and fraud from her time as a union official.
As the CEPU seeks a judicial review of an ABCC decision to apply the new national building code to hundreds of SA power workers, it has flagged Australia-wide industrial unrest if other power companies seek to apply the code during EBA negotiations.
The AWU has welcomed the selection of a preferred buyer for the steelmaker Arrium, while warning that further taxpayer funding will be needed from the Federal and SA governments.
The union attempt to quash planned cuts to penalty rates is expected to kick off in the Federal Court next week, but one workplace legal expert believes they face an uphill battle to succeed.
