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.
Protected industrial action will start at DP World's four container terminals on Friday in the form of work bans, followed by rolling stoppages in individual ports from next week.
Production workers at CUB's brewery at Abbotsford in Victoria are set for some Christmas cheer after striking an in-principle agreement on a new three-year deal that provides annual pay rises of 4%.
Printing, counting and logistics workers at the RBA's money printing arm, Note Printing Australia, are about to vote on whether to strike indefinitely, conduct unlimited stopworks and ban communication tasks in a bid to win a 4% annual pay rise, with their unions pointing to a package awarded to the bank's directly-engaged employees.
