A mix-up in which the same proposed enterprise agreement was accidentally referred to two different Fair Work Australia members has graphically highlighted inconsistencies in the agreement approval process.
A contractor on the Pluto LNG project has failed to secure a cooling-off period to end a hard-fought bargaining dispute with its employees, after FWA found its lock-out of the workers undermined its case for a suspension of all industrial action at the site.
The Fair Work Ombudsman's sound internal practices are responsible for a 90% reduction in complaints between 2007-08 and 2008-09, according to a Commonwealth Ombudsman report released today on the FWO's use of its "coercive information-gathering powers".
Western Australia's industrial tribunal has increased the minimum wage by $17.50 to $587.20 a week for workers covered by the State IR system, in a ruling that has drawn criticism from both unions and employers.
Will the new national safety net combined with other factors, such as the FWO's high level of energy as an enforcement agency, reduce the level of enterprise bargaining in Australia? That, says FWA's Vice President Graeme Watson, is one of the challenges facing the national IR regime.
A right of entry clause in Dunlop Foams' agreement is unlawful, a Fair Work Australia full bench has ruled, in a decision welcomed by Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard and employer groups today.
Rail unions win Federal Court privatisation case; FWA rejects pattern bargaining claim; Refinery workers ordered to end night shift ban; Deadline approaches for Division 2B State Awards; and CFMEU releases new pro-mining-tax tv commercial.
