Fair Work Australia's only full bench ruling on whether employers can bypass unions during good faith bargaining and deal directly with employees is so narrow in scope that it has left the door open for further consideration of the issue, a CFMEU legal officer told Friday's Australian Labour Law Association conference in Adelaide.
Workplace Relations Minister Senator Chris Evans says Labor is focused on bedding down the Fair Work Act, while his Coalition counterpart, Senator Eric Abetz, says it will be up to others to campaign for reform of the legislation.
A test case clarifying the operation of the general protections provisions might help increase the flow of such claims to federal courts, according to Federal Magistrate and former Fair Work Australia member Dominica Whelan.
Nine out of 10 employers are satisfied overall with the performance of Fair Work Australia's unfair dismissal conciliators, according to a survey released today.
The Federal Government has warned it will have to fund any pay increases awarded in the SACS equal pay case by cutting other programs, and has urged FWA to "find the right balance" between equal remuneration for community sector workers and "the broader implications of any wage increase".
ABC Commissioner Leigh Johns today fleshed out his proposal for a sham contracting inquiry and roundtable, indicating the process could lead to a building industry code of practice on the issue.
The Senate has ordered Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy to provide "EBA principles" he said unions had developed to guide their wage negotiations with the NBN Co, while the CEPU says it will seek 5% pay increases in bargaining with the contractors that will roll out the network.
The AiG will represent three employers seeking to appeal Fair Work Australia's rejection of their enterprise agreements on the basis that they permitted excessive cashing out of annual leave.
Workers at the $5.4 billion Thiess Degremont desalination plant in Wonthaggi, Victoria, will hold two mass meetings tomorrow at 7am following the revelation today that Thiess had hired Tasmanian Bruce Townsend and his company Australian Security and Investigations (ASI) to infiltrate the site.
