National firefighters leader alleging defamation by NSW secretary; Coalition IR statement in next few days; Labor offers cash to apprentices; Crumlin elected ITF president; and Abbott smuggles two Work Choices budgies
Former AIRC senior deputy president Paul Munro has made a scathing attack on the Opposition's "extraordinary" insistence that FWA head Justice Geoffrey Giudice appear before Senate Estimates, and claimed that Shadow Workplace Relations Minister Senator Eric Abetz has not been allowed out of Tasmania during the election campaign.
The AiG has become the first major employer group to oppose an equal pay order for the social and community services sector, while unions today proposed a detailed timetable in the case to accommodate the federal government's caretaker status.
The Coalition's changes to IR laws during its 11 years in office from 1996 "undoubtedly" contributed to a shift in the balance of power away from workers and their institutions and towards employers, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of the academic literature on the Howard years.
Wage increases of about 3.5% a year are set to flow to some 40,000 workers in the retail sector under enterprise agreements negotiated between the SDA and large employers including Bunnings and Dan Murphy's, while fast-growing JB Hi-Fi could be among those in the union's sights in future bargaining rounds.
A pilot sacked by Jetstar after failing assessments at the end of his training period has been ordered by the Federal Magistrates Court to repay the airline $30,000 it spent on training costs, after it rejected his claim that flaws in the training system led to his failure.
In a move the ACTU has labelled a "political stunt", the VECCI has applied to vary 81 modern awards that prescribe minimum shift lengths for part-time and casual workers - including the modern retail award - to allow workers to agree to reduced hours.
