Alcoa workers spurn AWU-backed deal; FWO pursues director over "disgusting" pregnancy jibe; Department reveals review of BCII Act, $132m in FEG payouts.
A tribunal member has strongly rebuked a legal firm for its "unprofessional" behaviour in missing a deadline to file material, lamenting that unlike golf tee times, FWC directions cannot be changed "at a whim".
A reduction of more than 60% in external legal expenses has steered the construction watchdog into operating profit for the 2017-18 financial year, as it continues a recent shift to initiating fewer court cases at the same time as it has been winning record penalties against the CFMMEU.
BP Australia is seeking to terminate the enterprise agreement for its oil refinery in Western Australia, in the latest case of a big employer using what the Federal Opposition has dubbed the "nuclear option" to break a bargaining deadlock.
The FWO has moderated its warnings to workers who might join the ACTU's round of national protests, as the first rally attracted a crowd of about 4000 in a wet and windy Perth yesterday.
The FWC says RAFFWU's objections to a Woolworths deal it expects to be voted up next week will delay its approval by "many months", as the tribunal orders the retailer to produce wage comparison documents to inform the union's bid to terminate the 2012 agreement.
Former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has lodged an adverse action case with the Fair Work Commission over her dismissal from the national broadcaster.
IR Minister Kelly O'Dwyer is intervening in Workpac's bid to block a casual from winning leave entitlements or to "off-set" his claims with loading and flat rates already paid, while the CFMMEU says it will also seek to intervene to protect principles established in Skene.
The Fair Work Ombudsman won more than $7.2 million in court-ordered penalties in the latest financial year, a 49% increase from the previous year reflecting more serious cases and courts' "growing intolerance for exploitative conduct against vulnerable workers".
Dismissal-related general protections claims are up by 26% over the past two years, while unfair dismissal applications are down by 7.5% over the same period, according to the Fair Work Commission's 2017-18 annual report.
