The ACCI has told a Senate inquiry into the Federal Government's paid parental leave bill that some employers were likely to amend existing arrangements after the new scheme comes in, while the ACTU wants the "keeping in touch" provisions narrowed so new parents can't be pressured into attending work to fill staffing gaps.
Alcoa has successfully repelled an AWU bid for costs after the company reversed its initial opposition to bringing cleaners within the scope of a proposed agreement at the Pinjarra alumina refinery in WA.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has again foreshadowed that a return to individual agreements and a small business unfair dismissal exemption will be the Coalition's main IR changes if it wins the next federal election.
The ACTU has called for the Federal Government's paid parental leave bill - introduced into parliament yesterday - to include a statutory object clearly stating that the new scheme is an addition to existing paid parental leave entitlements, while both the AiG and BCA say they don't expect employers will reduce existing arrangements.
Woolworths is seeking FWA approval of its first nationwide enterprise agreement - one of Australia's biggest – which will boost employees' wages by about 3.5% a year and entitle 20-year-old workers to full adult rates.
Unions for the first time in 20 years have increased the proportion of workers who are members, with density reaching 19.7% in the 12 months to August last year and the number of union members rising for the second year in a row, by 82,200 to 1,835,100.
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FWA has taken a tough line on ensuring employers meet pre-approval requirements for their new agreements, rejecting a deal covering some 85 NSW worksites because the company failed to give a handful of employees enough time to consider it - including one on maternity leave, which the tribunal said was "potentially discriminatory".
