A mass meeting of BlueScope Steel workers in Wollongong has endorsed a "game-changing" rescue package that cuts 500 jobs, freezes pay for three years and scraps bonuses in a bid to help keep the steelworks afloat.
The ACCC won't pursue side-deeds under which the TWU agreed to "audit" transport giant Toll Holdings' major competitors and the company directed up to $150,000 a year to the union’s training company.
The Fair Work Commission has terminated a Work Choices agreement between the AWU and a Spotless subsidiary that saved the employer about $2 million a year in wages and penalty rates.
The AWU is seeking to terminate a substandard cleaning agreement exposed in the Heydon Royal Commission, while former Victorian branch secretary Cesar Melhem has stepped down as Labor whip in Victoria's upper house, after the inquiry criticised workplace deals struck during his leadership.
A former AWU Victorian branch organiser has denied responsibility for a side deal with a cleaning company to pay an annual $25,000 "service fee" to the union while casual employees missed out on penalty rates.
The AWU's Victorian branch received up to $25,000 a year from a Spotless Group subsidiary under a memorandum of understanding that meant cleaners were not paid penalty rates, the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
The MUA is using its industrial muscle to extract up to $1 million from employers for training funds that the Heydon Royal Commission acknowledges are legitimate, the inquiry heard today.