A Fair Work Commission member denied an employer procedural fairness when he allowed a self-represented unfair dismissal applicant to escape cross examination by giving unsworn evidence from the bar table, a full bench has ruled.
The WA police are continuing a crackdown on illegal drug use among mineworkers in the Pilbara, after they conducted random drug searches of employees of iron ore producer Fortescue Metals.
With federal public sector bargaining still deadlocked, employees at a second agency have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, while the CPSU is urging employees in Employment Minister Eric Abetz's own department to reject the first APS proposed agreement to go to a vote.
Labour productivity in the private sector has now increased for 22 consecutive quarters, while the real cost of non-farm labour has risen for the second quarter in a row, according to ABS national accounts data released today.
A FWC full bench headed by the president has ruled that the tribunal cannot rely on the Acts Interpretation Act to work out the meaning of provisions in enterprise agreements and has clarified the circumstances in which it can take into account bargaining negotiations.
FWC Vice President Adam Hatcher will head up a full bench to deal with the ACTU's wide-ranging casual and part-time employment claims, as well as proposed employer variations, after Commission president Iain Ross accepted they were "common issues" across the modern awards that the tribunal is reviewing after four years of operation.
The FWC has made its approval of an enterprise agreement conditional on an employer providing an undertaking that it won't pursue legal action against employees who fail to comply with its internal policies and procedures.
The FWC has found that a Roy Hill Mine contractor unfairly sacked two employees, known on the job as the "Chemical Brothers", for allegedly forcing a colleague to purchase drugs for them.
The campaign techniques used by Victorian unions in the State election – including "mass doorknocks" in key marginal seats – are set to be applied in the NSW and Queensland elections next year, and possibly the federal election after that.
The FWC has again refused to suppress the names of an employer and workers facing allegations of bullying, finding that the principle of open justice meant it shouldn't make confidentiality orders.
