The CFMEU construction and general division's Victorian branch is appealing a Federal Court decision that barred the union from paying an $18,000 penalty against an organiser after the judge concluded the union received part of its income from government grants.
Victoria's volunteer firefighters have dropped legal action in the State Supreme Court against the CFA's proposed new enterprise agreement, in the wake of the Turnbull Government pushing through changes to the Fair Work Act.
The Coalition should have sought a "more extensive mandate" on IR and run a more active campaign on the subject during the last election, rather than supplementing the ABCC and ROC bills with a "last minute minor change on CFA volunteers", according to Abbott Government Employment Minister Eric Abetz.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts says the party is inclined to back the ABCC and ROC bills, while it will also push for the federal government to get out of IR regulation and to beef-up the ACCC to police anti-competitive conduct by companies and unions.
The UFU's proposed High Court bid to overturn the CFA legislation is "misconceived and likely to fail", according to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, who is confident the new law will survive any challenge.
The Turnbull Government has today lost the most hard-line backer of IR deregulation on the Senate crossbench with the resignation of former HR Nicholls officeholder Bob Day.
The Senate has passed unamended the Turnbull Government’s bill to outlaw terms in the proposed CFA agreement that might limit the involvement of volunteer firefighters.
The Turnbull Government will introduce legislation early next year to give the Fair Work Ombudsman new examination powers and expressly prohibit employers from providing false and misleading information.
Former trade union royal commissioner and High Court judge Dyson Heydon has emphatically refused to give evidence to a Senate inquiry into legislation to re-establish the ABCC.
Former ACCC chair Allan Fels will head a migrant workers taskforce that will advise the Coalition on policies to improve employment protections for overseas workers and monitor 7-Eleven's rectification of underpayments, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash announced this morning.
