An alliance between three unions to cover the agricultural supply chain says it has won agreement from the supermarket giant Coles to "pursue safe and fair conditions" for workers in the fresh produce and meat sectors.
An FWC full bench has cleared the way for a commissioner to redetermine an employer's objections that a worker allegedly sacked when a stranger handed her an unmarked envelope at her home did not qualify for unfair dismissal protection because it should be deemed a small business.
The Australian government needs to shake up the regulatory framework governing workplaces and competition if the country is to reignite wage growth and capitalise on the opportunities presented by the digital economy, according to an OECD report.
A wholefood store that summarily dismissed a chef after a three-day absence for cancer treatment has failed to establish that he abandoned his employment, the FWC slamming its "extraordinarily heartless disregard".
In a penalty decision ordering the local arm of a global conglomerate to pay a further $20,000 to a supervisor unlawfully sacked by an HR manager within her probationary period, a court has cited the company's failure to find out more about the contravening conduct and whether it needed to minimise the risk of it reoccurring.
United Voice and the NUW are pushing ahead with merger plans to create Australia's biggest blue-collar union, with almost 156,000 members and an organising model that seeks to tackle low-paid labour hire jobs as well as part-time and casual work.
A former TWU official has lost a bitter dispute with the union over his dismissal in 2014, which he claimed was motivated by his absence from work due to a back injury.
The TWU will today raise the spectre of nationwide airport and road freight strikes as it pursues "sector-wide rates" for 38,000 workers covered by 200 expiring enterprise agreements.
The FWC will reconsider a mining company's bid to terminate an eight-year-old agreement covering no workers, a full bench finding a senior member gave it no opportunity to address his concern that it would not be in the public interest prior to talks with the CFMMEU.
