Employment Minister Eric Abetz has told a Senate Estimates hearing that he is still considering more than 30 submissions on the merits of establishing an appeals mechanism for FWC decisions, but will not release them publicly because some are "highly confidential".
A five-member Fair Work Commission full bench has made it clear that the tribunal won't approve enterprise agreements that pay annual leave progressively as a loading, or incorporate it into hourly rates of pay.
FWC President Iain Ross has this afternoon flatly rejected a suggestion that his involvement in superannuation funds "25 years ago" means he has a conflict of interest in sitting on the expert panel's review of default funds.
The construction watchdog's review of "cold cases" has identified another 14 cases where penalties were agreed through negotiation or discontinued, a Senate Estimates hearing has been told. Meanwhile, the Fair Work Ombudsman has rejected suggestions that it "washes its hands" of 457 visa complaints.
Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions has been ordered pay a $10,000 fine and to reinstate a solicitor it subjected to unlawful adverse action when it stood him down then dismissed him for misconduct that "arose wholly" from his anxiety and depression.
A member of the Fair Work Commission's expert panel has resigned after being disqualified, due to a potential conflict of interest, from participating in the review of default superannuation funds. Meanwhile, the Financial Services Council's challenge to the make-up of the panel is to be heard this week.
The ASU has vowed to keep fighting the Qantas plan to close call centres in Brisbane and Melbourne, launching a television advertising campaign that targets the airline's customers and arguing that the job losses will be higher than those claimed by the airline management.
FWBC director Nigel Hadgkiss has released new statistics that show the agency has increased its investigations into union misconduct four-fold since he took up the reins in October last year.
Shadow Workplace Relations Minister Brendan O'Connor has told AMMA's resource people summit this morning that resource industry employers need to talk to him if they want progress with the IR changes currently blocked in the Senate.
