Employers seeking longer notice periods for protected industrial action due to exceptional circumstances might have to provide stronger evidence, after the FWC refused Essential Energy's bid to extend the warning given by the CEPU from three to five days.
Fair Work Commission member Ian Cambridge has today told StarTrack and the TWU that a "sensible position" should be adopted to ensure a protected 24-hour strike from midnight does not affect the delivery of time-critical goods such as COVID-19 vaccines.
The StarTrack s424 bid, to be heard tomorrow, says the TWU's protected action should be terminated or suspended, because it would endanger delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, blood products and pathology samples, plus organs for transplant and other medical products.
A FWC member has sailed past a union lawyer's caution not to interfere in the wording of a proposed strike ballot, finding that an "ambiguous" question should be deleted to avoid perplexing employees voting on it.
The FWC has rejected a chicken processor's argument that it should extend notice of the AMWU's proposed 12-hour maintenance strikes from three to seven days to ensure it doesn't breach RSPCA animal welfare guidelines and legislated standards, but has criticised the union for the "commercial unreality" of its suggestions about the defensive measures the company might undertake.
MUA members have overwhelmingly endorsed protected industrial action at the Port of Melbourne's "robo-terminal", as the union seeks to drag the automated stevedore towards more traditional industry working arrangements.
While union members tend to drive decisions to apply for pre-strike ballot orders and take protected action, the voting itself is less democratic, according to a book exploring how the regulatory environment can compromise democratic processes.
The CFMMEU construction and general division's NSW branch has warned sub-contractors that have signed its new pattern agreement they face being reported to the ABCC unless they switch to a nine-day fortnight from December 1.
Hutchison Ports has won an extended five-day notice period for industrial action after failing to do so last year, winning a ruling that the coronavirus pandemic has tipped the balance and created exceptional circumstances.
The AEC will no longer conduct attendance ballots for protected industrial action until the coronavirus crisis is resolved, prompting the FWC to vary multiple union PABO applications in order to delay the close of voting and allow for postal ballots.
