With a further two days of industrial action by Qantas aircraft engineers due to begin tomorrow, the Workplace Ombudsman is investigating whether a "black-list" of strike-breakers is in breach of freedom of association laws, while the ALAEA, ACTU and the airline are planning to meet again on Monday.
The four remaining senators from the party that played a key role on IR for most of the Howard years - the Australian Democrats - are sitting in federal parliament for the last time today.
The AIRC has agreed to extend and vary a pre-Work Choices agreement for SPL Group's Brisbane warehouse to provide annual pay rises of 4.5% this year and next year, but has declined to backdate the deal to the first increase in February this year, saying this would be justified only in "compelling" circumstances.
Unfair dismissal remuneration cap to rise to $106,400; CFMEU WA leadership contender pledges to end union’s links to Burke; and AWU to push for carbon capture and storage.
The Health Services Union's leader, Kathy Jackson, has hit out at the ACTU's leadership for backing the ANF proposal for a priority modern award for nursing, saying the AIRC's decision on Friday emphasised that modern awards would be primarily industry-based and vindicated her union's opposition to the plan.
Washington in court in August; Maddison leaving CFMEU; Deal close in Victorian construction; Labor acknowledges departing senators; and TCFU accuses Feltex of requiring meeting in toilet.
The AIRC has barred five CEPU delegates from taking unlawful industrial action at Australia Post's Dandenong Letters Centre over the next three months, after an unlawful wildcat strike on June 12 and 13 held up 20% of the nation's mail.
Majority of states against "blanket" referral of IR powers; Correction to award modernisation article; New ACTU commercial pushes for bargaining rights; CFMEU WA branch sacks officer leading rival leadership ticket; and Vale Keith Mahon.
The AIRC seven-member award modernisation full bench has today decided to make 14 priority modern awards; confined its model flexibility clause to agreements between employers and individuals - which cannot be offered as a condition of employment - and finalised its timetable for the process.
Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard has today promised to make available to researchers the fairness test AWAs that were kept secret by the Howard Government, but did not promise to revive the Australian Workplace IR Survey, despite criticising the Coalition for failing to collect and release IR data while in office.
