The Business Council of Australia has returned to the IR policy arena, after its national council yesterday made it one of five priorities for the next year.
Last year's safety net increase led to a 0.2% reduction in labour demand, while freezing the minimum wage for five years would create demand for an extra 250,000 jobs, according to a report the Federal Government commissioned for the 2004 safety net review.
A funeral services company that sought to transfer an employee to another branch has been told that the transfer is unlawful, as the employee's place of work was specified on induction and was his primary reason for accepting the position.
About 500 predominantly female senior community services employees will enjoy the 35-hour-week worked by other local government employees after the USU succeeded in a bid in the NSW IRC to vary the local government award.
About 20 employees of Barfab Sheet Metal in Salisbury (Queensland) have won casual conversion rights after 12 weeks while labour hire workers at the site can convert after 16 weeks, under a newly certified agreement.
Opposition Leader Mark Latham has today announced a new retirement income goal - "65 at 65" - and has set out to differentiate Labor's policy from that of the Coalition, which he labelled as "work till you drop".
Jim McAlpine, a former senior executive at Pasminco and ICI, has been appointed to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission, after long-serving Commission member Bob Watling moved on in January.
The AIRC has refused to certify a non-union agreement because of the employer's failure to notify employees of their right to be represented by a union, but has excused errors and omissions in other deals.
An order issued by the AIRC President Justice Geoffrey Giudice on Thursday staying the redundancies of 80 employees of The Age's Spencer Street printing facility was effectively reversed when the AMWU won a Federal Court injunction on Thursday night.
