Wage growth in enterprise agreements is steady at 3.9% a year, while enterprise bargaining is now almost universal in the federal public sector, according to the DEWR.
In a bid to provide a major boost to its Combet-era organising focus, the ACTU has decided to dip into its reserves to fund a $1m program to train workplace delegates and activists.
The ACCI has told an IRC full bench hearing the ACTU's proposed reasonable hours clause is unworkable, while employers surveyed by AIG have conceded some merit in the ACTU claim but say it fails to recognise business imperatives.
The Cole Royal Commission will start its formal hearings on December 10 in Melbourne, but without any employers or unions authorised to appear before it.
Around two-thirds of working women in New Zealand will be eligible for 12 weeks paid maternity leave from July next year, coinciding with the ACTU mounting a new push for universal paid maternity leave in Australia.
In the first test of the federal unfair dismissal jurisdiction's exemptions for casual employees since the Federal Court quashed two key regulations on November 16, the IRC has allowed a short-term casual to proceed with her unfair dismissal claim.
Former industrial lawyer Robert McClelland is the new Shadow IR Minister, after Opposition Leader Simon Crean announced his new frontbench's portfolios today.
Employers oppose Victorian manslaughter Bill; another AMWU official charged over Skilled "raid"; CPSU seeks WA private prison coverage; and NSW Government funds employers for special case increase.
