Federal Labor says it is ready to support the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement after securing "legally binding safeguards" requiring labour market testing, use of enterprise agreements as a reference point for 457 visa workers' salaries and a 90-day deadline on obtaining occupational or trades licences.
An FWC full bench today reserved its decision on a challenge to the approval of the Coles/Bi-Lo supermarkets agreement, after hearing that up to 50,000 employees of could be financially disadvantaged under the deal, which covers more than 77,000 workers.
The documentation for a $300,000 payment by the builder of Melbourne's EastLink toll road to the AWU appears to have been "deliberately falsified", the Heydon Royal Commission heard today.
Major rail freight operator Aurizon plans to cut about 800 jobs over three years as it seeks to deliver up to $300 million in gains under new enterprise agreements, which exclude what the company says are "legacy conditions".
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.
"Members only" collective agreements should be introduced and it should be left to employers to decide whether to provide the same wages and conditions to non-members, according to Sydney University's Ron McCallum.
The FWC has blocked an attempt by maintenance workers servicing mining giant Anglo Coal's Queensland operations to nominate multiple bargaining agents.
A full bench of the federal court has confirmed that terms in modern awards that provide allowances for hardships experienced by employees working in certain remote locations are not extinguished by the Fair Work Act.
