The NSW IRC’s President, Justice Roger Boland, has urged the Federal Government, in its negotiations with the State Government, to make his members dual appointees so they can work in both federal and state jurisdictions, while Attorney-General Robert McClelland emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to aligning domestic IR laws with international standards.
ABS National Accounts data indicates hours have fallen but productivity is up; and the AIRC has today released its important ruling on how transitional arrangements will apply to priority and stage 2 awards.
Failure to comply with the Fair Work Act's good faith principles is a relevant factor in considering whether a bargaining representative is genuinely trying to reach agreement, Fair Work Australia has ruled.
Employers would have to allocate a percentage of annual payroll to workplace health programs under potential legislative changes tabled in the final report of the Rudd Government's Preventative Health Taskforce.
A full bench of the Federal Court has rejected a bid by the CFMEU to overturn separate AIRC decisions that gave its rival state unions the right to carry their exclusive coverage of workers at two major Queensland sites into the federal system.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick told an Equal Pay Day forum in Sydney today that she lacked the resources needed to use her power under the Fair Work Act to seek equal remuneration orders. The forum coincided with the release of an issues paper by the federal department that is leading a review of the equal opportunity agency.
An employer did not engage in "unfair or capricious conduct" when it took steps to restructure part of its operations while bargaining was taking place, Fair Work Australia has found, in a ruling that clarifies the good faith requirements.
Australia should avoid following the US down the path of developing complex case law on whether particular conduct breaches good faith bargaining requirements, according to Washington-based labour and employment lawyer.
ABC Commissioner John Lloyd today revealed he has asked police to investigate threats and abuse he says were levelled at him by a union organiser, while unions renewed their push for the abolition of "unfair and discriminatory" coercive powers.
