The Federal Court has upheld a ruling that the CFMEU's WA construction branch and two officials should pay a total of $8,500 in penalties for breaching the no extra claims clause in a construction agreement, despite union claims that the workers went on strike against its advice.
Unions are likely to find ways to circumvent the new ban on providing unfair dismissal remedies in agreements, while the results of next year's NSW election could be the key to whether a truly national IR system can get up, Flinders University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart told a Sydney conference today. He also explained how next week's re-numbering of the Workplace Relations Act would work.
Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews today rejected attacks by the ACTU and ALP on the new Regulations to the Work Choices Act as "hysterical outbursts" and "absurd claims."
The Regulations released today for the Howard Government's Work Choices IR changes outlaw a wide range of provisions in agreements, including any that prohibit AWAs, fail to pertain to the employment relationship, or allow union right of entry.
The remainder of the Work Choices amendments to the Workplace Relations Act will take effect from March 27, while Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews today released the Regulations for the new IR laws.
The escalating tension between Qantas and its pilots over the expansion of the low-cost Jetstar subsidiary reached the Federal Court today, with the pilots arguing that the decision by Qantas to transfer four long-haul aircraft but not their air crews to Jetstar was unlawful.
The President of the AIRC, Justice Geoffrey Giudice, has warned that welfare payments might have to be cut to provide an incentive to work under Work Choices, as employees without bargaining power lose existing protections and the new Fair Pay Commission slows the growth in minimum wages. He also said the new IR laws might need amending to both strengthen bargaining rights and water down excessively-complex rules for authorising protected action.
IR has become one of the dominant issues in the South Australian election, with the Rann Government highlighting its opposition to the Federal Government's Work Choices legislation as one of the key differences between the parties ahead of tomorrow's vote.
News Ltd and its contractor Group 4 Securitas have been ordered to pay a total of $1.9 million in damages to a former security guard subject to extreme bullying and intimidation by his supervisor.
