WA's Cook Labor Government will create two new public holidays from 2028 and change the dates of multiple existing public holidays under amendments to be introduced into Parliament this week.
The Federal Government's black coal mining LSL body has lodged a High Court appeal to a full Federal Court judgment with significant implications for the eligibility of shotfiring and explosive services workers, while the CFMEU is celebrating the removal of "loopholes and cruel anomalies" in WA's construction industry portable LSL scheme.
CFMEU women's networks have objected to construction division administrator Mark Irving's plan to invest $5.4 million in a men's construction-industry behaviour change program, accusing him of failing to consult women members.
Union industrial officers are increasingly being supplanted by external IR lawyers, with the phenomenon most pronounced in "organising" unions, according to the principal of a boutique union-clientele law firm.
Former Unions WA leader Simone McGurk will continue as the Cook Government's IR minister and take up the women's portfolio, following a post-election cabinet reshuffle.
Labor-aligned think tank the McKell Institute has called for the Albanese Government to commit to establishing a national labour hire licensing scheme by the end of the year, in a new report commissioned by unions and Woolworths with the aim of protecting horticultural workers.
More than 33,000 WA public sector workers are in line for a 12.5% pay increase over three years and up to 27 weeks of "more flexible" parental leave for both caregivers, as the CPSU Civil Service Association pledges to keep fighting for a four-day work week.
The WA IRC has made interim orders removing the recently reappointed leader of the ANMF's West Australian branch, Mark Olson, paving the way for the union council member who launched the challenge to take over his post.
WA's Cook Labor Government has introduced legislation to lift casual loading from 20% to 25%, give some workers an enforceable right to request flexibility, and empower the IRC to discipline industrial agents, but it continues to lag on portable LSL.
A leading IR law academic says he would not be surprised if the Albanese Government proposes a Fair Work court to operate alongside the FWC if it is returned at the next federal election, while SA Employment Tribunal President Stephen Dolphin recommends looking to the "exceptional" model in his State.
