A full Federal Court has fined the CFMEU $300,000 and the CEPU $130,000 over a 2011 industrial campaign; penalties that are almost three times higher than originally sought by the construction watchdog.
The Federal Court has today imposed a $25,000 fine on a former CFMEU lodge secretary who committed contempt when he refused to comply with an order to allow a search of his home.
The ROC has updated its Federal Court claims against the TWU after the union found a back-up of its Queensland membership database it said was lost when the outgoing state secretary made all the branch's employees redundant in 2010, but the watchdog says it lacks vital information about who could vote.
Any possibility of the FWC moving towards the UK employment tribunal's user-pays regime might have been stymied after its highest court found that recently-introduced fees for individuals of up to $2,000 prevented access to justice and were unlawful.
Two maritime unions concerned about protecting their territory are seeking to intervene in the Fair Work Commission's hearings to consider the planned three-way merger of the MUA with the CFMEU and the TCFU.
A former Melbourne fruit market owner and his company have been hit with record penalties of more than $660,000 after "arrogantly" ignoring FWO warnings about underpaying a vulnerable Afghan refugee.
Australia must "redress the imbalance in bargaining power" held by workers and unions to reduce economic inequality, according to Federal Opposition workplace spokesperson, Brendan O'Connor.
An FWC full bench has quashed an agreement struck with five Sigma Healthcare recruits, finding the NUW had been denied natural justice when the pharmaceuticals giant failed to provide it with its application for approval on the basis that the union had ceased to be a bargaining representative.
An FWC full bench has reserved its decision on an SDA application to include paid blood donor leave in five awards, after employers argued the entitlement has no place in the modern awards system and should be left for enterprise bargaining.
