The FWC has upheld a company's dismissal of a long-serving worker who failed to follow safety procedures when he spilled molten slag from a front-end loader, then tested positive to cannabis, almost 24 hours after he claimed to have smoked a joint.
The Federal Court has dismissed an adverse action claim by a CFMEU delegate at a BHP Coal mine in central Queensland, accepting the company sacked him for rough-handling and verbally abusing a colleague and for issuing overtime directions, not because of his union activity.
Queensland's unions today launched their High Court challenge against the Newman Government's changes to IR laws, which they say has shut down their ability to campaign against unpopular government decisions.
Uncertainty continues about whether undischarged bankrupts can pursue the full range of unfair dismissal remedies under the Fair Work Act, after Deputy President Greg Smith this week declined to follow FWC authorities in giving a Monash Health employee the all-clear to run his case.
The Federal Court will next month hear the AEU's claim that the Victorian Government has unlawfully changed the rules for salary progression for the state's education workforce, after the parties this morning agreed to the matter being set down for a speedy trial.
Continuing the trend of state governments limiting independent tribunal oversight of their own employees, WA Premier Colin Barnett has today introduced a Bill into parliament that will make it easier to retrench public sector employees and require the state IRC to factor public sector policies into its decision-making.
An employee made redundant while pregnant has lost her adverse action case, with the Federal Circuit Court accepting a business downturn was behind her job loss, and rejecting her claim that her employer became hostile to her because she wouldn't commit to taking only six months parental leave.
A new discussion paper on productivity advocates a shift away from automatic annual wage progression for public servants, and maintains that Australia's penalty rates and overtime structures have lost some relevance in a 24/7 economy.
