Confirming this afternoon that he will run against ACTU secretary Dave Oliver at the peak body's May Congress, assistant secretary Tim Lyons said that unions needed to stop defining themselves by what they opposed and become the champion of the nation's working people.
The Federal Government has told the High Court that the Queensland Government's argument against a union challenge to legislation removing Queensland Rail workers from the federal IR system would thwart the operation of the Constitution's corporations power.
ACTU president Ged Kearney has confirmed that there is "sounding out happening" over a possible change in the leadership of the peak union body, but she will continue to support incumbent ACTU secretary Dave Oliver.
The Federal Government is trying to curb lawful industrial action and reduce the likelihood that bargaining will result in collective deals in a bill it introduced into federal Parliament late last year, according to the ACTU.
Will Tracey, a key official of the MUA's militant West Australian branch, intends to run for a national leadership position, in a development sure to cause alarm among some shipping employers.
ACTU secretary Dave Oliver faces a leadership challenge from his assistant secretary Tim Lyons in the lead-up to the peak union body's triennial Congress in May.
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that it has no jurisdiction to impose conditions on industrial action when it orders a protected action ballot, rejecting Aurizon's bid for it to require the rail union to guarantee it won't interfere with the transport of perishable or hazardous goods.
The Federal Court has refused to compel three employees to hand over documents to their former employer to help it decide whether to sue them for breaching contract and corporations laws, finding the company had failed to make enough inquiries of its own before seeking discovery orders.
A Fair Work Commission full bench has upheld the sacking of a 65-year-old Thiess worker for forwarding an "inappropriate and offensive" anti-Muslim email, saying he was entitled to hold those views but not to use his employer's computer system to express and propagate them.
A HR manager who believed his chief executive was undermining his autonomy was not constructively dismissed, a senior Fair Work Commission member has ruled in a decision that explores the complex relationship between the two roles.
