Productivity Commission chair, Gary Banks, has again questioned whether the "significant human dimension" in labour markets justifies IR regulation falling outside competition policy, while the ACTU has described much of the recent productivity debate as "uncritical reporting of self-interested comments from business leaders that don't bear up to scrutiny".
Building Advisory Board announced; Caltex and airline maintenance jobs to go; Construction industry review needs to look at “real issues”, says CFMEU; and Victorian union stalwart to retire.
In an important decision, the Federal Magistrates Court has ruled that a trainee communications employee who attended a total of 5.5 weeks training more than 700km from his home wasn't entitled to be reimbursed for any of his transport, food, or accommodation costs.
Fair Work Australia has awarded Melbourne's firefighters an employer subsidised income protection scheme for non-work related injuries or illnesses, overcoming a "no extra claims" clause in their enterprise agreement.
Chevron Australia has launched Federal Court action against the MUA, claiming ships at a supply base for the giant Gorgon gas project are taking up to three times longer to load than they should despite a Fair Work Australia order banning industrial action by stevedores.
Unions will, as expected, kick $2 per member into an ACTU campaign war chest each year until 2015 as they step up the fight against the Federal Coalition, conservative state governments and "hostile employers".
Unions say they will strongly oppose Telstra's proposal to freeze pay or link increases to performance, as they negotiate a "back-to-back" replacement agreement.
An independent investigation into HSUeast has concluded that it will not become a democratically functioning union until there is acceptance by all concerned that it "has not been governed for and by the members, as it ought to be, over a past extended period."
In a surprising move, lawyers for James Ashby have put his sexual harassment claim on hold while they press an implied constitutional right to expose allegations about federal Speaker Peter Slipper's misuse of taxpayer funded Cabcharges.
