The NSW IRC has rejected road transport organisation Natroad's bid to exempt its members from legislation extending minimum rates for owner drivers and contractors throughout NSW, finding the unregistered association lacks standing.
Pay rises in private-sector enterprise deals have climbed back above 3%, coinciding with a big reduction in agreement-making in retail and hospitality, according to the Department of Employment.
A university study of international students' employment conditions in food services shows they are receiving as little as $8 an hour and a median of $17, well below the award rate of about $21.
The FWC is canvassing whether it should rule early next year on the United Voice request to follow the UK's lead in setting a medium-term target for the minimum wage.
Australian authorities are seeking assurances that the owners and operators of a coal carrier detained off the Queensland coast will pay the wages of about 20 crew and give them enough provisions for their journey to China.
Growth in rates of pay excluding bonuses are now firmly below 2% for the first time since the ABS began compiling the Wage Price Index nearly 20 years ago.
A road freight group is warning it does not want a repeat of the abolished Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, as it faces a court challenge to its bid to have members exempted from legislation extending minimum rates for owner-drivers and contractors throughout NSW.
The AWU has accused the FWBC and a heavy equipment supplier of using the national construction code as a "Trojan horse" to cut pay and condition of workers outside the building industry.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rejected a Labor proposal to make a joint submission to the Fair Work Commission on the importance of maintaining penalty rates.