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A Sydney-based silk with a strong suit in commercial law is tipped for the crucial role of counsel assisting the royal commission into the governance of unions and their financial dealings.

Flagging new strategies to give workers a collective voice, ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons has rejected recent calls for an "accommodation" with employers and told unions not to be afraid of conflict and controversy.

Former HSU East secretary Michael Williamson has had his bail revoked and is in custody following a sentencing hearing in Sydney today.

The CFMEU has lost the first of three appeals stemming from the Fair Work Commission's decision last year to review its right of entry practices at Lend Lease's Adelaide projects.

The FWC's HSU investigations and litigation have cost more than $2.5 million so far, with a further bill of up to $150,000 likely from current Federal Court proceedings against former national secretary Craig Thomson, a Senate committee has heard.

Fair Work Commission general manager Bernadette O'Neill will seek civil penalties against the Musicians' Union and one of its officials for 118 alleged breaches of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act.

The Abbott Government says it has given former High Court judge Dyson Heydon a broad brief to probe employer behaviour and the role of police in industrial matters in the royal commission announced this afternoon, but the focus of its terms of reference is squarely on union misconduct.

Pilots union seeks rule change to cover Qantas subsidiary; & Thomson's lawyer says concessions a "fabrication"

The Toll Group and the TWU have reached an "in principle" agreement for the company's 10,000-strong workforce, delivering a potential pay increase of 15.25% over four years and a commitment to maintain employer super contributions at 3% above the statutory minimum.

The Coalition has largely succeeded in neutralising IR as a 2013 federal election issue by promising to retain – at least for one term – Labor's Fair Work framework, but Australia's two major parties are still going to the September 7 poll with some significant policy differences, including on paid parental leave, right of entry, and construction industry regulation. Workplace Express compares their IR policies and those of the Greens, whose future hold on the Senate balance of power is uncertain.