A full Federal Court has today ushered in a new age in which union officials are held personally liable for breaching IR laws, ordering a CFMMEU organiser to pay almost $20,000 from his own pocket for his role in disrupting work at a construction site in 2013.
Employer groups are considering a High Court challenge to the rejection by an FWC full bench of their bid to reverse the amalgamation of the CFMEU, MUA and TCFU.
The FWC has today ruled out a contentious rule change sought by a pilots union because it failed to abide by requirements to secure support from a two-thirds majority of its governing body.
The FWC has thrown out the ABCC's latest bid to block a high-profile CFMMEU leader from visiting worksites, warning that any future applications will need "actual evidence" that he controlled officials and failed to address their actions.
The CFMMEU has today challenged employer groups' standing to appeal the approval of its merger, arguing they are not sufficiently affected as they will be dealing with the same officials doing the same work to the same standards, only wearing different t-shirts.
An entry dispute at a Queensland textile plant has exposed subterranean tensions during the merger of the CFMEU, TCFU and MUA, raising concerns about possible internal coverage disputes in future.
Employer groups have failed in their bid to delay the March 27 CFMEU-MUA-TCFU amalgamation, but have taken solace from a senior FWC member's observation that their April 9 appeal to an FWC full bench "surmounts the fairly low bar of being arguable".
The Fair Work Commission has approved the merger of the CFMEU with the MUA and TCFU after rejecting employer arguments it should take account of the "significant" number of civil pecuniary proceedings penalty cases against them.
An Australia Post employee has failed in a Federal Court bid to win reinstatement after his summary dismissal for acting as a paid industrial advocate for his colleagues.