A presidential member of the AIRC has clarified the scope of the Commission's powers under the transitional IR laws to vary and extend pre-Work Choices agreements.
The Federal Court has dismissed an application by Telstra to prevent unions from making what the company claimed were misleading statements about a non-union offer it made to its employees.
This week's NSW Court of Appeal ruling on employers' implied duty of good faith and fair dealing was one of the cases Clayton Utz partner Joe Catanzariti referred to when he told a Gold Coast conference that while the post-election focus had been on the Federal Government's legislative IR plans, recent common law developments had important implications for employee rights.
An AMWU bid to prosecute a truck trailer manufacturer for allegedly refusing to recognise it as a bargaining agent is set to go before the Federal Court early next month.
Lawyers to review substantive IR bill; AWU collective deal replaces AWAs at Gladstone; AMMA calls for tough construction cop; Qantas maintenance workers say outsourcing has undermined safety; New bill boosts protection for New Zealand casual and labour-hire workers; and Pratt departs DEEWR for Centrelink.
The Queensland Government, like the ACTU, wants any new national IR system to provide a circuit breaker when bargaining breaks down. It also says it will continue to regulate child employment, training, OHS and workers compensation and that, like its state and territory counterparts, it believes federal Labor's proposed seven-day time limit on lodging unfair dismissal applications is too short.
Telstra is seeking a Federal Court injunction to prevent unions making what it alleges are false and misleading claims to its employees about a non-union collective agreement they are due to vote on next week.
In an important ruling, the NSW Court of Appeal has emphasised the limited scope of any implied duty of "good faith and fair dealing" in employment contracts.
AiG national IR director Stephen Smith has warned that the award modernisation process could have the unintended consequence of expanding union entry rights.
The AIRC has ruled this afternoon that it has the power to intervene in the Telstra bargaining dispute, and has held out the prospect that it might be able to order a ballot to give employees the chance to vote on whether they prefer a union or non-union agreement.
