The "lawlessness test" that is likely to prevent unions such as the CFMMEU from engaging in multi-employer bargaining could be made more specific after discussions with employers and unions, according to Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke.
The Albanese Government's IR legislation provides "big improvements" in the bargaining framework for low-paid workers, but the benefits of the multi-employer provisions might be more limited, according to a leading workplace law expert.
In what looms as a showdown over BHP's in-house labour hire operation, the miner's Queensland coal workforce has overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action in pursuit of a new deal built around job security.
John Holland's failure to identify the significance of a decision rejecting its earlier greenfields deal when applying to have an almost identical one approved "verged on misleading", a FWC full bench has held, quashing its approval while refusing to quietly do so "by consent".
A Federal Court majority has slashed by more than 65% penalties imposed on a government-owned organisation for breaching agreement obligations, finding them "manifestly excessive".
The NSW Perrottet Coalition Government is blaming a union-negotiated staffing agreement for hampering its ability to offer permanency to temporary teachers, as both it and NSW Labor promise to convert 10,000 to permanent roles.
In a detailed examination of a major government department's early response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Court has rejected union claims that a hastily-conceived working from home policy breached existing arrangements and consultation requirements.
RAFFWU says that despite initially challenging the approval of an independent bookseller's agreement, it will be celebrating the result for members set to benefit from a "far superior" wage structure and some of the strongest conditions in retail.
The Productivity Commission has warned against "shoehorning" gig economy platform work into other employment categories, arguing it could jeopardise their benefits for consumers and workers.
The FWC has resisted union objections to approval of a coal mining deal, accepting an undertaking that the employer would convert a "significant majority" of casual workers to full-time if it wins a tender at a BHP subsidiary.
