Reith granted indemnity after the fact, Abbott reveals; US EO agency launches same-sex harassment case; ACCI announces corporate governance policy; Gadens partner starts own practice; Organisations Act begins in May; Hawke review prompts restructure of Queensland public sector IR; NSW Labor Council reaps $2.1m from 2KM sale; Coles signs FairWear code; and teaching union opposes positive discrimination.
The Victorian plumbing union has struck a deal with employer organisation the AMCA for the mechanical services sector that delivers a 12% pay rise over three years plus increased travel pay, but it remains in a stand-off with the industry's biggest employer group, the Master Plumbers Association.
Prime Minister John Howard's own department has boosted the quantum in its s170LK agreement instead of making the first increase retrospective, after the DEWR vetoed plans for backdating.
The contractor at the centre of the 10-week dispute in East Gippsland is still to sign off on a certified agreement, but workers have been back on the site now for four days after it agreed to give up on its AWA offer.
Grocon workers in Victoria have unanimously rejected the company's offer of a non-union deal, while the company has knocked back what the CFMEU (construction division) describes as its "olive branch".
Workers dismissed after failing workplace drug and alcohol tests might have recourse for unfair dismissal because the tests have no legal validity, says workplace health researcher, Kathryn Heiler.
The LHMU has won an order of general application giving redundant Chubb workers severance entitlements under the ILO's termination of employment convention, with the AIRC accepting that the WA security officers' award didn't provide an "alternative mechanism".
Employers are becoming increasingly liable for the conduct of employees under the influence of alcohol or drugs at work functions, an employment lawyer has warned.
Victoria's Attorney-General, Rob Hulls, has also taken on the IR and Workcover portfolios in the Bracks Government’s second-term ministry, which was announced this morning.
The LHMU has attributed the resolution of a dispute with McGuigan Simeon Wines to an aggressive shareholder campaign, after the company backed down from its threat to terminate a South Australian vineyard's enterprise agreement.
