Pocock joins Peetz on Hockey hit list, after report finds Work Choices empowers employers to treat workers with disdain; ACCI general council criticises fairness test; maintains it was unnecessary; Harkins and CEPU back in court in September; Documentary on violent 1929 coal mining dispute to air on pay-tv; Workers can take every fifth year off at St George; AIRC to review wages and allowances next month; New pay scales must be carefully drafted, says AiG; and Hockey to roll up his sleeves.
The Government's IR changes in the building industry have helped produce a 9.5% improvement in labour productivity in the sector and a nine percentage point cut (from a 10.7% historical average in 2002 to 1.7% in 2007) in the cost gap between commercial and residential construction, according to a consultant's report commissioned by the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
The Fair Pay Commission’s 1.6%-over-10-months inflation forecast when it awarded pay rises of $5 to $10 a week to low-paid workers this month is looking shaky, after the ABS revealed the cost of living increased by 1.2% in the June quarter and 2.1% over 12 months.
Prime Minister John Howard and Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey both issued warnings from Western Australia yesterday against changing the Coalition’s IR laws, with Howard maintaining the ALP's plan to scrap AWAs would cause “chaos and loss of income” in the State.
Fair Pay Commission chair Ian Harper has rejected claims that the commission's minimum wage determination this month will not deliver real pay increases to the low paid, and said last year's decision provided higher real rises than he had expected.
The first authoritative Pay Scales to be published by the Fair Pay Commission will be based on the hospitality, retail, clothing and insurance industry awards.
Gillard says biography confirms Howard Government knew Work Choices would hurt workers; Combet to step down in mid-August; Howard says Harkins preselection shows Rudd too close to unions; Rudd backs Tasmanian logging; Ford to begin assembling small car in Melbourne; Employer fails to establish dismissal made for operational reasons; Confidential ACTU report plans post-election strategy; and ex-Ansett workers get eighth payment.
A local government authority has lost its bid to dismiss an unfair dismissal case for genuine operational reasons after the AIRC found the sacking was influenced by personal antagonism, not just the employer's restructuring needs.
Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey has warned home lenders that the government will intervene if they don’t curb irresponsible lending practices that are putting pressure on working families.
It will be business as usual for mining companies if a Rudd Labor Government is elected, CFMEU mining and energy division general president Tony Maher told an industry conference in Perth yesterday.
