In a significant judgment on the level of proof required to establish an unlawful boycott, a High Court majority has upheld a finding that the CFMEU's construction and general division did not collude with major building company J Hutchinson to freeze out a non-union waterproofing subcontractor.
BHP is trying to "buy" support from its OS in-house labour hire workforce for a new production agreement by offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus, according to the Mining and Energy Union, after a parallel agreement for its maintenance cohort got across the line after it put forward the same sweetener.
CFMEU administrators who are blocking a FWO attempt to investigate whether the union boycotted an AWU-aligned Indigenous building company must hand over documents after a judge accused them of a "hyper-critical dissection" of a contested notice to produce.
A union member acting as a maintenance contractor's health and safety representative has won interim reinstatement while the Federal Court weighs claims that the company sacked him for raising complaints about everything from silica dust exposure to welding fumes and fatigue management.
Ahead of the May 3 election, the ETU has today launched anti-nuclear-power television, radio and social media commercials that target 12 largely marginal seats, including that of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
Mining unions have applied to the FWC for a majority support determination to force Rio Tinto to the bargaining table with workers at its Paraburdoo iron ore operations, while an IR researcher says in a forthcoming book that Pilbara workers' ambitious demands at the height of union power more than four decades ago can provide lessons for unions today.
The Ai Group has hinted at a potential "consensus" in a FWC-initiated case with economy-wide implications to consider inserting WFH provisions in the clerks award, while expressing concern that it would be "unfair" to require submissions ahead of results of a survey on the issue, with the tribunal now persuaded to ditch the deadline and hold a conference.
In a novel move, unions are seeking to bring forward by 14 weeks the end of the strike-suspending s425 order won by NSW rail employers, arguing that it has failed to achieve its stated purpose of bridging the differences between parties, who they claim have moved further apart during FWC-supervised talks.
The UFU's Victorian branch is set to be referred to the AFP after a FWC full bench ran out of patience with the union over its refusal to explain how it came to charge a reputed members' income protection scheme $480,000 in "promotion/management costs".
The FWC has refused to refer legal questions on the construction of a Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act provision to the Federal Court before hearing the Victorian Ambulance Union's registration application.
