The AIRC has issued an interim direction stopping the termination of employees until a redundancy package has been negotiated in line with an enterprise agreement, despite arguments that the Work Choices changes removed its powers.
Strong export income and historically low unit labour costs have driven robust recent employment growth that defied last year's softening in economic growth, according to ABS research released today.
The CEPU is protesting today against Telstra's plans to cut jobs and reduce the wages of more than 200 installation and management employees through the closure of Work Management Centres in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Bendigo.
Employees who left work to join national union demonstrations against Work Choices on June 28 were engaged in unlawful industrial action, according to two AIRC rulings sought by Australia Post and Nestle.
Fair Pay Commission to run second public consultation tomorrow; Submissions due for Queensland Work Choices inquiry next week; Demoted Navy officer wins 50% costs order for discrimination; Work Choices a bonanza for Jackson Wells Morris, Colmar Brunton; AIRC to move Melbourne HQ in September; Federal politicians' pay up 7% from July 1; and ABC to start filming waterfront dispute mini-series next week.
Unions today lost their first fully-argued application for a secret ballot to take strike action under Work Choices, in a test case on the new law's genuine bargaining requirements.
Norwegian-based shipping group Stolt is pursuing 11 seafarers for unlawful industrial action after dropping its prosecution of maritime unions over the crew's refusal to unload a ship's cargo in Hobart in protest against plans to replace them with cheap foreign labour, according to unions.
The Queensland IR Court has ruled that a non-profit church-owned corporation that runs a number of schools is a trading corporation, rendering it immune from the State's IR laws.
A nightclub owner has lost an appeal against damages awarded over an assault committed "for no apparent reason" by one of its bouncers, in a decision that reinforces the vicarious liability of employers who approve the use of force by security workers.
The ACTU executive meeting in Melbourne today will consider recommendations from a union study tour to support laws giving workers the right to a collective agreement if it is supported by a majority of employees in a workplace, coupled with "last resort" arbitration where bargaining breaks down.
