The FWC has made it clear that Svitzer's planned national lockout at noon tomorrow now won't proceed, but it will decide tomorrow whether to suspend or terminate the protected action.
Key crossbench Senator David Pocock says the vast majority of the Albanese Government's Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill is "good to go" and he is committed to working through his concerns about the rest of it in the next few weeks, including locking-in a review of the legislation.
The TWU will meet the administrators of Deliveroo Australia this afternoon to push for greater compensation for about 15,000 riders and drivers who worked for the food delivery company before it abruptly stopped trading yesterday.
The past decade's decline in agreement coverage from 23% to just 12% of workers explains about half of the coincident reduction in wages, while the Secure Job's Bill's changes to bargaining, agreement termination and the FWC's powers are likely to almost restore coverage and boost wage growth by 1.6 percentage points a year, according to Centre for Future Work analysis.
The FWC has accepted that a senior software developer's unfair dismissal application was filed one minute late because of the "high risk" last-day strategy of a union lawyer laid low by nicotine withdrawal.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says that "conversations are happening" on extending the sitting of the Senate beyond December 1 as he tries to win support from key crossbench senators for the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill.
A FWC full bench will tomorrow consider whether to terminate or suspend tugboat operator Svitzer's planned indefinite national lockout on Friday, after the company told Vice President Adam Hatcher it is not prepared to delay it and does not believe conciliation will help.
The creation of two new FWC expert panels on pay equity and the care and community sector will require the appointment of four additional commissioners, according to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
Private sector rates of pay increased to 3.4% annually in the September quarter, up from 2.7% in the previous three-month period, according to the ABS, but aneamic public sector rises have restricted the economy-wide rise to 3.1%.
