Despite the FWO receiving only a modest funding increase for a bigger remit, Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker has told a Senate Estimates hearing that her organisation has scope to redirect some of the "generous" allocation it received when it took over some of the now-axed ABCC's functions.
Svitzer Australia workers have voted up a new national towage deal despite the MUA urging members to reject it in a late about-turn prompted by concerns that a union-proposed clause might let the company "outsource at any time" following consultation.
A court has awarded costs against a worker who scoffed at "ludicrous" settlement offers made by his former employer, suggesting he should have given more than 30 minutes' thought to the consequences before rejecting them.
The Minerals Council is warning the Albanese Government against introducing vicarious liability provisions in new Fair Work Act discrimination protections, while also urging it not to replace the Barclay burden of proof test for adverse action cases, saying it risks giving a "green light" to misconduct for those claiming to be engaging in industrial activity.
The FWC's national practice leader for bargaining has started the clock on compulsory conciliation while a strike vote is conducted, having also used one of the first applications under new workplace laws to suggest that while the "recency" of the provisions made a case for endorsing an unapproved ballot agent, the bar will be higher in future.
A court has ordered a juice bar that pocketed a worker's JobKeeper payments to cough up nearly $30,000 and its director $5000 for ignoring a FWO compliance notice, signalling to the restaurant and cafe sector that its lawbreaking record has created a need for "very substantial general deterrence".
Bunnings workers have voted up a long-awaited deal that introduces an extra week of annual leave, trials a four-day working week and scraps a contentious "bank of hours" rostering system, but RAFFWU claims it undercuts award minimums and is "simply not approvable in its current format".
The FWC will convene a "substantive bringing together of the parties" that won't be a mere "tick and flick exercise" before protected action ballot applications are approved, under the changes introduced in the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation.
