RBA says labour market still strong, wage pressures continue; High Court to hear Fish appeal tomorrow and Amery on November 16; and Andrews says survey shows strong public support for the Government’s "welfare to work" changes.
In what is the largest penalty imposed on a union under the Workplace Relations Act, the Federal Court has ordered the AMWU to pay a $25,000 fine for coercing a subcontractor to make an agreement.
CFMEU beats coercion charge, taskforce caught covertly recording again; Judge says it should be a criminal offence to burn workers’ entitlements; BCA airs new advertisement backing second wave; Work Choices inquiry submissions due on Wednesday; and New guide to work choices.
Award provisions allowing women returning from maternity leave to transfer from full-time to part-time work look like being knocked out under the new Work Choices legislation, according to the ACTU.
The International Labour Organisation is today hearing an ACTU complaint that the Federal Government's Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act breaches Australia's international legal obligations.
The CPSU has uncovered two areas in which the Federal Governments second-wave bill undermines existing bargaining and organising rights even further than flagged in the WorkChoices booklet. The first deals with the 90-day rule for terminating agreements, and the second with right of entry at workplaces covered by non-union collective deals.
The NSW Government today said it would proceed with a High Court challenge to the Federal Government's Work Choices legislation, while all the other States are likely to join the legal action.
The new Australian Fair Pay Commission will lack the AIRC's independence, while the removal of the requirement for an "effective" safety net will drive down labour costs at the bottom end of the market and create more "working poor" in Australia, according to Melbourne University's Dr John Howe.
