The marine vessel operator Farstad Shipping has responded to a 24-hour strike by MUA members by declaring it "can't and won't" budge on shorter work rosters.
The Victorian ALP says that if it defeats the Napthine Government on November 29 it will expand the state's referral of IR powers to Canberra in a bid to ensure the validity of clauses in public sector enterprise agreements that might infringe state governments' constitutional immunity.
The CFMEU says the Heydon Royal Commission will exceed its powers if it finds the union and its officers guilty of breaking the law, arguing it is only an investigative body.
The Fair Work Commission has rejected employer attempts to block a 24-hour strike by MUA members that will affect more than 20 vessels servicing the north-west's offshore oil and gas industry.
The recently-revived critique of the so-called "IR Club" is in reality an exaggerated, distorted, evidence-poor "stalking horse" for labour market deregulation, according to RMIT University Professor Anthony Forsyth.
Employment Minister Eric Abetz has acknowledged that the initial April 2015 deadline for the Productivity Commission's IR review is now unrealistic and has also indicated he might not respond to the road safety remuneration tribunal review this year.
The Victorian branch of the ETU says it has reached in-principle agreement with a breakaway group of six electrical contractors, after the sector's peak employer group advised members to negotiate non-union enterprise deals.
The Federal Circuit Court has ruled that NSW employees on workers' compensation are entitled to accrue annual leave under the Fair Work Act, a situation that will be reversed if the Senate passes the Abbott Government's amendments to the federal legislation.
A restraint of trade clause that effectively includes more than 8,000 separate covenants is certain and reasonable enough to be enforceable, the Tasmanian Supreme Court has found.
