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Employees will have no guarantee that public holidays falling in their leave periods will be credited, and employers will have new rights to direct employees when to take their holidays under the Work Choices legislation, according to the LHMU.

The Federal Government is unlikely to make any changes to the 38-hour week averaging provisions in its Work Choices legislation, or address Queensland National Senator Barnaby Joyce's concerns about companies restructuring to avoid unfair dismissal claims, Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews made clear today.

On the same day the Federal Government's second-wave IR laws passed through the House of Representatives, its bill linking higher education funding to IR changes has been approved by the Senate.

State wage case applications being lodged today by all state union peak councils other than Victoria are seeking that state industrial tribunals convene an unprecedented joint sitting to consider their cases.

The Work Choices legislation is through the House of Representatives, with the Federal Government this morning using its numbers to guillotine debate.

Unions NSW will today seek a 4% safety net increase for state award workers, in a case coordinated with other state union peak councils around the nation in response to Federal Government plans to stymie the 2006 national wage case.

Rio Tinto seeks amendments to WorkChoices to give primacy to common law contracts, extend union greenfields deals; Five-day Senate inquiry to proceed as planned after roundtable proposal abandoned; Work Choices legislation debate to continue into tomorrow; Labour productivity down 1.3% in 2004-05, says ABS.

The AIRC still has the authority under the Work Choices legislation to set minimum wages for federal award employees of unincorporated associations, raising the possibility that unions could continue scaled-down Safety Net Review cases, according to legal experts.

The Coalition has this evening used its numbers in the Senate to defeat an ALP move to push back the reporting date for the Senate inquiry into the Work Choices bill and to have the inquiry examine the changes to unfair dismissal laws.

PM wrong on Blair Athol "double dipping": Peetz; Costs of "pulp fiction" revealed, while $1.8m of WorkChoices booklets sitting in warehouse; Opposition making FOI bid on Work Choices advertising; $500,000 bill for external advice and lawyers working on Work Choices; Tasmania moves to protect workers from federal changes; and SA Government launches "Real Choices" website.