The FWC has approved two experienced operators to conduct protected action ballots under new Secure Jobs Act provisions, opening the way for unions to seek electronic ballots not offered by the only other eligible agent, the AEC.
The IEU's WA branch has leapt right out of the gates to become the first union to seek a single interest multi-employer bargaining authorisation, using the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs changes to compel Catholic school employers to negotiate on behalf of thousands of general and education support workers.
NSW IR Minister Sophie Cotsis says the Minns Government will only sign up to Federal Labor's proposed laws covering "employee-like" workers if they are at least as strong as those in her home state.
A FWC member has put in a plug for a "likeable" casual ski instructor to be re-employed, despite rejecting his request for a time extension to challenge his sacking for allegedly competing in an obstacle race while drawing worker's compensation for an injury.
The Albanese government has appointed Mordy Bromberg, a senior Federal Court judge who jointly leads its employment and IR practice area, as president of the Australian Law Reform Commission.
As the CFMMEU's mining and energy division eagerly awaits the result of its demerger ballot, expected to be declared on Thursday, the RTBU's Victorian branch has told a FWC bench its locomotive division will be unable to protect members' interests if allowed to disamalgamate as it does not own the money in its bank accounts.
The prevalence of non-compete clauses in low wage occupations suggests that businesses are using them to stop workers from creating rival operations and to limit their bargaining power, rather than legitimately using them to protect trade secrets and client relationships, a new survey suggests.
A trio of IR academics say that DEWR's proposed regulations risk creating a third category of worker that employers might use to downgrade their employees to employee-like workers "resulting in a wider downgrade of the terms and conditions of work across the economy".
The NSW IRC has reinstated a police technician for the second time in six years after he was again sacked for abusive outbursts – this time targeting rail workers during industrial action that affected his commute.
The FWC is considering three applications for authorisation of private agents to conduct protected action ballots, but in the interim it is having to make findings that there are exceptional circumstances for unions to utilise them, such as a need to conduct electronic votes, an option unavailable from default provider the AEC.
