The CFMEU says it will organise national protests and work stoppages in coming weeks with support from other unions and the ACTU to protest the return of the ABCC and the accelerated implementation of the 2016 national construction code.
The NSW Public Service Association has defied a court order restraining it from organising its members to strike in protest at the State Government's plans to privatise disability support work and will now face substantial penalties in the Supreme Court.
Planned industrial action by more than 20,000 Centrelink employees has been postponed after FWC-guided discussions saw the Department of Human Services withdraw an s418 order to halt the strike on the basis it was a protest against its so-called "robo-debt" scheme rather than a legitimate bargaining manouevre.
A court has fined the CFMEU and two organisers almost $100,000, after finding the union engaged in unlawful coercion and adverse action when it organised a blockade at the $1.6 billion Port of Melbourne expansion project because an employer refused to bargain.
An FWC full bench has accused the CFMEU of seeking to "disguise" what would be an exercise of judicial power over entry rights as an administrative matter and of relying on a "red herring" argument.
The ABCC is seeking special leave from the High Court to seek to overturn a recent decision that stymied the watchdog's push to prohibit unions from paying fines imposed on officials for unlawful conduct.
The FWC has declined AGL's request for an order to stop what it suspects is industrial action by employees at its Loy Yang A power plant in Victoria after it was unable to secure enough employees to work overtime, leading to the company being unable to bring two of its four power generating units back online on the weekend.
The CPSU and Department of Border Protection return to the FWC next week for conciliation of their draft workplace determination, while employees of three APS agencies have again rejected offers.
The CFMEU and its former construction and general division Queensland branch president David Hanna have been fined more than $37,000 for threatening to continue industrial action against a construction company unless it agreed to a secret deal, with the court finding the union had a boundless disregard for the law.
The MUA may be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation and penalties after the FWO commenced legal action against the union for allegedly organising unlawful, week-long industrial action at Sydney and Brisbane ports last year.
