The Fair Work Act should be amended to stop employers using the good faith bargaining provisions to repel attempts to make agreements, according to CFMEU construction and general division national secretary Dave Noonan.
Former Darebin mayor Diana Asmar will contest the election for HSU Victoria No. 1 branch secretary after her nomination was declared valid by the Federal Court.
The broad agreement that now exists on the link between harmonious workplaces and productivity improvement is "perhaps the biggest development in Australian workplace relations since the introduction of enterprise bargaining 20 years ago", according to FWA Vice President Graeme Watson.
The AiG has delivered a scathing assessment of the Federal Government's recent and proposed IR changes and described the last year as one of "disappointment for business in the industrial relations arena".
After two years of consultation, Western Australia's Barnett Government has released its draft IR changes that seek to harmonise the state's unfair dismissal and right of entry laws, but stop short of reversing its refusal to join the national IR system.
The Federal Court's Justice Richard Tracey hopes to be able to resolve the challenge to the HSU Victorian No. 1 branch elections by the end of next week.
The ETU's internal legal battles - which national secretary Peter Tighe estimates have cost close to $1 million over the last year - are not over yet, with the Federal Court allowing the Victorian branch another chance to argue for an inquiry into last year's election, despite an appeal decision this week undermining its case.
FWA launches new unfair dismissal guidance; NSW promises to revisit Boxing Day trading bill as angry santas march; Ambos lead the way in addressing workplace bullying: report; and Workplace laws secondary burden to red tape: directors
Pay rates excluding bonuses are continuing to rise at a moderate annual rate of 3.7% in trend terms, after increasing by 0.9% for the last four successive quarters, according to ABS data released today.