In what is believed to be the first interlocutory injunction to provide union entry for discussion purposes, the Federal Court has ordered a project head contractor to permit ETU organisers to access labour hire linesworkers on a 900km, $2.2 billion interstate power transmission interconnector.
The Federal Court has today reversed a judge's finding that a CFMMEU organiser directed a "disgusting" homophobic slur towards a construction project's safety advisor, while it also axed a personal payment order against him.
The FWC has reinstituted a CFMMEU official's entry rights after more than five years, accepting that he had put his history of foul-mouthed contraventions behind him since being elected to a leadership role and making "lifestyle" changes to reduce stress.
The FWC has accepted the rehabilitation of a CFMMEU organiser penalised for a perceived racial slur, issuing him with an entry permit three years after he surrendered his previous one.
A union has won a rare order allowing it to inspect the employee records of a business part-owned by a listed company in search of proof of underpayments.
The FWC has rejected the FWO's forceful arguments against renewing a union organiser's entry permit after weighing his history of transgressions, doubts over whether he paid a court-ordered personal fine and evidence that training had better equipped him to avoid potential future breaches.
A leading IR academic says a Federal Court ruling that takes a restrictive view of union rights to enter workplaces for discussions is "deeply concerning" and demonstrates a need for Parliament to consider new amendments and provide better guidance on interpretation.
The ETU has confirmed that it will challenge a Federal Court ruling that "neuters" unions' rights to enter workplaces to organise workers through a restrictive interpretation of provisions allowing access for "discussions" with employees.
Union officials can't use their right to enter premises for discussions with members to gather signatures on petitions or "secure a commitment to a particular course of action in the future", the Federal Court has found, ruling in favour of an employer that blocked access for an organiser who sought workers' backing for a majority support determination.
The FWC has granted an entry permit to a TWU organiser after accepting evidence of his having "turned his life around" since his conviction for assault, stalking and breaching AVOs during a "difficult" marriage breakdown.
