Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has failed to guarantee that "every single aspect of workplace relations" would continue unchanged if he was elected, while Labor says the Coalition has left itself wriggle room to change key aspects of the IR system.
Xstrata Coal has called in police after a bomb-like device was allegedly discovered in the vehicle of a manager at Tahmoor colliery, while the mining union condemned the incident and criticised the company for linking it to a bargaining dispute at the mine.
Two employees have succeeded in their unfair dismissal claims against tyre retailer Beaurepaires, after FWA found that while their error in fitting the wrong tyre was a valid reason for termination, the dismissals were harsh overall.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called an election for August 21, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has sought to neutralise IR as a campaign issue by declaring a Coalition government would retain the Fair Work Act in its first term.
New transmission of business rules introduced as part of the Fair Work reforms are making it more difficult for outsourced employees to hold on to their jobs and imposing unworkable restrictions on employers, according to the AiG, which has called for significant changes to the laws.
FWA has refused to certify two deals that provide a 12% loading to employees who take unpaid rather than paid annual and sick leave, while noting that an earlier decision by a different commissioner "reached no similar conclusion".
Refuellers at Sydney airport will walk off the job for 24-hours next week if talks on Monday don't resolve a bargaining dispute between the TWU and Airport Fuel Services over what the union claims is an attempt to lower future pay by introducing a two-tiered workforce.
The sacking of a TWU official involved in a violent altercation with a co-worker was fair and was unrelated to his involvement in a hard-fought bargaining dispute, FWA has found.
Full bench to hear pilots' coverage case; Sparkies ramp up power company industrial campaign; MUA members strike over death; AiG analyses first year of new laws; Gallacher wins top Senate spot; and Ridout, Howes, Sutton on population panels
Ulan Coal Mines did not meet the genuine redundancy test for six mineworkers because it should have redeployed them at related Xstrata mines, FWA has found, in the latest installment in a case that that began with another finding - overturned by a full bench - that the redundancies weren't genuine.
