Restaurant employers have applied to the FWC to vary the industry award to provide more flexibility to deal with the coronavirus virus, following on from similar cases involving clerical and hotels awards.
The FWC has approved a protected action ballot at a major personal protection equipment company declared an "essential business" in the battle against coronavirus, after the employer withdrew multiple objections.
A senior FWC member says the tribunal cannot issue interim anti-bullying orders merely because there is a serious question to be tried, while it has made it clear to a worker that such an order is not a tool to prevent her dismissal until her matter is determined.
The ACTU has welcomed the Morrison Government's apparent shift towards wage subsidies to assist those thrown out of work by the coronavirus crisis, while Canberra has received a further extension for its minimum wage case submission.
An FWC full bench has today granted a coronavirus-driven variation to the clerks' award that provides more flexibility to work at home, take leave and reduce hours.
Unions and the ALP today secured support from a key business group as they continue to pressure the Morrison Government into paying UK-style wage subsidies to coronavirus-affected workers, against a background of tripartite cooperation not seen for 25 years.
An AMWU organiser has been fined $12,000 for threatening to blockade a building site and generate "bad PR" if the project refused to engage union members.
The AEC will no longer conduct attendance ballots for protected industrial action until the coronavirus crisis is resolved, prompting the FWC to vary multiple union PABO applications in order to delay the close of voting and allow for postal ballots.
The Federal Circuit Court has held that an employer was obliged to dock four hours' pay from workers attending a lunchtime talk on asbestos that ran 45 minutes over time, noting a supervisor who considered it "unremarkable" had no authority to extend the meeting.
The coronavirus pandemic requires a temporary but fundamental reconsideration of the Fair Work Act's safety net, according to a joint bid to vary a key award to provide substantial operational and hours flexibility.
