Howard Government IR minister Peter Reith has denounced his party's IR policy as "very limited" and urged business to pressure an Abbott government to promptly start its promised Productivity Commission inquiry into the Fair Work regime - and to write it a draft terms of reference.
Unions have warned Newcastle's Port Waratah Coal that a bargaining dispute could spread within the worldwide network of maritime and mining unions, after workers overwhelmingly endorsed taking further industrial action during a four-hour stopwork meeting yesterday.
In a decision with potential ramifications for the push-selling industry, the Federal Circuit Court has found a kitchenware retailer contravened the Fair Work Act's sham contracting provisions when it purported to engage four sales representatives as "independent agents" in early 2010.
The federal government has made it easier for parents who have children close together to access its paid parental scheme and has increased the cost of 457 visas, in measures introduced in last night's Budget.
Labor and Greens members of the Senate's Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee have recommended that the Fair Work Amendment Bill be passed, despite noting strong opposition to it by employer groups, while Coalition senators oppose a number of its key provisions.
New IR laws proposed by the Newman Government will drown political campaigns worth more than $10,000 in red tape, affecting the timeliness and effectiveness of industrial campaigns of both unions and employer groups, according to a Queensland University academic.
The Fair Work Commission will gain more than $5 million extra each year to deal with its forthcoming new power to make anti-bullying orders, while it will receive $6.2 million over four years for a new pay equity unit within the tribunal, the federal Government has announced in tonight's Budget.
