The reach of the Fair Work Act's general protections provisions depends on the interpretation of "rubbery" expressions, while other elements of the legislation have failed to live up to their promise or are strangling the retail industry, according to three IR silks who delivered this year's prestigious Julian Small lecture.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking an urgent interlocutory order for an employer to stump up more than $1 million because of fears it will fail to make severance and annual leave payments to about 200 redundant workers.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today warned employers that the Federal Government will not stand by and allow them to breach enterprise agreements by employing contractors on lesser wages and making workers redundant while agreements are in place and employees have no power to take lawful industrial action in response.
FWA has this morning immediately terminated industrial action at Qantas for three weeks - extendable by a further three weeks - following two hearings that went into the early hours of the morning after the airline's chief executive on Saturday grounded his fleet and announced a lockout.
FWA will this evening hear an urgent bid by Workplace Relations Minister Chris Senator Evans to terminate protected industrial action at Qantas after the airline late this afternoon dramatically escalated the bargaining dispute with three unions.
The Government, Opposition, unions and employers have all paid tribute to Fair Work Australia President Justice Geoffrey Giudice in the wake of his announcement yesterday that he would resign from the end of February next year.
Good IFAs worth highlighting, says Ombudsman; No probe into leaked Scientology report, says Wilson; Disproportionate number of sham contracting cases before court, FWO concedes; Failure to consult means no genuine redundancy; Tribunal finds majority want to bargain at tea importing company; FWA extending notice period for industrial action in sensitive areas; and Part-costs for woman whose boss said he chose employees based on breast size.
