The AiG says that the Abbott Government should amend the Fair Work Act to prevent unions from taking industrial action when they are bargaining for "non-permitted" matters, in the wake of a FWC full bench decision on the issue this week.
Fair Work Commission general manager Bernadette O'Neill has today asked the Federal Court to "re-enliven" parts of her civil proceedings against former HSU national secretary, Craig Thomson.
A demarcation dispute over coverage of employees at high-end medical equipment manufacturer ResMed Limited will be heard by a FWC full bench, with the AWU and the company opposing the AMWU's bid to extend its eligibility rules.
Confirming this afternoon that he will run against ACTU secretary Dave Oliver at the peak body's May Congress, assistant secretary Tim Lyons said that unions needed to stop defining themselves by what they opposed and become the champion of the nation's working people.
The Federal Court has thrown out a challenge by Victorian HSU leaders to the Fair Work Commission's inquiry into allegations that the union rorted the right of entry permit system.
In a move that the government has dismissed as a political stunt, the ACTU has told Employment Minister Eric Abetz he should suspend his IR legislative agenda for at least a year to enable the Heydon trade union inquiry and the Productivity Commission Fair Work Act review to run their course.
The secretary of the HSU's Victoria No 1 branch, Diana Asmar, has been returned with a resounding majority, but still faces scrutiny over the branch's alleged failure to follow procedures for issuing entry permits to organisers.
A sacked CFMEU (construction and general division) elected organiser has lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission and is taking the matter to the union's national executive.
Former HSU leader Craig Thomson has been warned that his three-month jail sentence could be extended if he fails in his appeal against convictions for 65 counts of theft and obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
