With the ACTU committed to examining the feasibility of establishing works councils, Sydney University’s Professor Ron McCallum looks at the history of such organisations, and whether they are appropriate for Australian workplaces.
Mandatory worker participation mechanisms such as European-style works councils need to be adopted because HR management has failed to deliver on its promise to empower and give autonomy to workers, acccording to a discussion paper released at the ACTU's executive meeting today.
The IRC has confirmed last December's unprecedented finding that effectively opened the door for the AMWU to pursue Southcorp for entitlements lost by Steel, Tank and Pipe employees - despite Southcorp having had nothing to do with those workers for nearly four years.
In a radical move, the ACTU in its reasonable hours test case will pursue an entitlement to additional paid leave when employees work beyond prescribed "extreme" hours caps.
Tallies have been formally removed as an allowable matter and replaced with incentive-based payments, after the Senate passed heavily-amended Government legislation today.
An IRC full bench has found a mining company didn't give a fair go to an underground mineworker with a depressive illness when it ruled him unfit despite two doctors giving the all clear for his return to work.
Wages increased by an average of 3.8% a year in large December quarter 2000 enterprise agreements covering at least 500 employees, according to analysis by HSBC.
The South Australian IRC's landmark casual clerks decision last year was unjust in granting casuals an unfettered right to convert to permanent status without giving employers the right to object, a full bench has found in upholding an appeal by employers.
The Federal Court has ruled that a company's "spill and fill" retrenchment process was not an attempt to unlawfully coerce or discriminate against union members.
