Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey has today sought to put pressure on Labor to reveal more detail on its IR policy, releasing 25 questions he wants the ALP to answer and claiming that reports that Labor might retain individual contracts for high earners show there is division between Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and Shadow IR Minister Julia Gillard.
Ford will stand down 1,250 workers at its Broadmeadows and Geelong plants in Victoria from close of business today following a strike over redundancy and entitlements at component supplier Venture Industries.
IR/HR practitioners have given Work Choices a very mixed score-card, reporting that it has given employees some initial work/life benefits but expecting that balance will deteriorate over time; finding it has increased direct communication but also that it has increased paperwork and reliance on legal advice; and split over whether the legislation encourages or discourages their organisations from taking on new workers.
American Express has launched a new drive to attract and retain employees, doubling its paid parental leave and offering discounted mortgage rates and health insurance allowances.
The Labor Party’s proposed good faith bargaining system is in reality compulsory collective bargaining, which would amount to an economy-damaging reversal of the IR changes wrought over the past 14 years, according to ACCI, but the ALP writes off the employer body’s claims as misrepresentation and “Crosby Textor political spin”.
Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks farewelled ex-ACTU secretary Greg Combet from Melbourne last night, in a speech comparing the ALP candidate for Charlton with Labor's World War II prime minister John Curtin, saying "we need you as a minister in federal government."
Greg Combet's formal departure as secretary of the ACTU at its executive meeting in Melbourne today signalled an intensified push by the peak body for a Labor vote at the next federal election, although unions have not yet decided on plans for unprecedented how-to-vote cards at the poll.
Virgin Blue will pay its 4,000 employees a 3% one-off bonus, after profit exceeded the target to trigger the payment, the airline announced today as it revealed a 93% increase in profit.
Protected industrial action can include authorised bans on non-rostered overtime covering extra shifts notified by employers, as well as stopwork meetings held off worksites, the AIRC has ruled.
