Air traffic controllers vote up industrial action; CFMEU to donate $1 million to bushfire victims; State Govt backs Queensland Rail over unions in pay dispute; ACTU calls for WRMC to support Fair Work Bill; Coalition calls for Fair Work modelling; and Jobless rate rises to 4.8%
Employers will have to pay market rates for 457 visa holders and will have to reimburse the Government for costs incurred if the temporary workers do not leave the country voluntarily, but they will no longer have to pay the workers' health care costs, under draft employer obligation regulations released today by Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans.
Westgate bridge upgrade head contractor John Holland fears the CFMEU and AMWU will escalate a dispute at the site if it refuses to abandon a proposed wage deal with the AWU.
Measures to improve women's equality have moved up the bargaining agenda in the federal public sector in the wake of new bargaining guidelines and the CPSU adopting a template log incorporating 28 weeks paid parental leave, but agencies are struggling to comply with the new "genuine bargaining" obligations, according to Sydney University's Sue Williamson.
Queensland IRC President David Hall - who is about to have his administrative powers returned via legislation introduced to State Parliament yesterday - has launched an extraordinary attack on members of his Commission, saying they might have engaged in a "deliberate untruth", acted in a "misleading" manner, and published disinformation.
The ETU's Queensland branch will ramp up industrial action in coming weeks following moves by electrical contractors in the state to pursue non-union agreements with their employees.
Brisbane railway workers set to strike next week; Obama pledges to roll back Bush's anti-union policies; SA teachers win 3.75% interim pay rise; CFMEU demand to employ shop stewards breaches BCII Act; NZ minimum wage increase not enough: CTU; and Yum! Restaurants bid to extend Pizza Hut award fails
Unions and employer groups have responded to the devastating Victorian bushfires with donations of money and other pledges of assistance, while corporate Australia has already committed millions of dollars.
Employers should be encouraged but not required to advise sacked employees in writing of the new federal unfair dismissal regime, while federal Labor's Fair Work Bill should also stipulate that unions signing greenfields deals represent the majority of employees who will be covered by them, according to University of Adelaide's Professor Andrew Stewart.
