Employers should be unable to terminate enterprise agreements that leave workers worse off, according to a Senate inquiry considering so-called 'corporate avoidance' of the Fair Work Act.
The FWC has accepted that BHP Billiton's sacking of a worker who raised his safety visor to get a better look at an exploding smelter at a uranium mine was justified but harsh, stopping short of reinstatement, though, because of the company's "rational" loss of trust and confidence in him.
Workers at Laing O'Rourke Australia Construction have approved variations to their NSW enterprise agreement, after the Fair Work Commission recently warned that almost 3,000 jobs would be at risk unless the deal was made code-compliant.
The Fair Work Ombudsman says it will use new coercive investigation powers as a "last resort" against employers that systematically fail to meet their obligations.
The wages share of the economy has dropped to a 53-year low, according to according to ABS data released today, while the Reserve Bank's governor last night suggested that the laws of supply and demand will eventually push up pay.
A trainee Aldi store manager is accusing the retailer of sacking him for complaining about bullying, unreasonable overtime and the mental and physical disabilities he claims to have sustained as a result, while a former Woolworths worker alleges he was victimised after becoming a union rep.
FWC rejects paid blood donor leave; RBA forecasting continuing low wage growth; and No need for further privilege ruling in workplace determination case.
An FWC full bench has quashed a ruling that upheld Woolworths' sacking of a petrol station employee for failing to follow its armed hold-up protocol when he refused to hand over money and cigarettes to an unarmed but "difficult" customer.
