New Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching has hailed her former boss at the HSU's Victoria No 1 branch, Diana Asmar, as "inspirational", while thanking other state union leaders for their support.
The Melbourne Magistrates Court has rejected an application to halt the committal hearings for blackmail charges against Victorian CFMEU leaders John Setka and Shaun Reardon.
The CFMEU construction and general division's Victorian branch spent $13.1 million on legal costs in the 12 months to the end of last year, up more than five-fold from $2.3 million in 2014.
The chair of Victoria's labour hire inquiry has asked police to consider investigating one of the state's leading poultry producers for advising an employee that his job was in jeopardy if he continued to make "unsubstantiated" allegations about the company.
The Fair Work Act is "effectively useless" to counter picketing, according to a leading employer-clientele barrister who laments that police often turn "a blind eye" to what would normally be considered criminal conduct, while the High Court's chief justice has canvassed the utility of comparative law in the workplace legal arena.
Victoria's Andrews Government has today committed to introducing a labour hire licensing scheme, after the Forsyth inquiry recommended such a regime for labour suppliers to the horticulture, meat and cleaning industries.
The Coalition should have sought a "more extensive mandate" on IR and run a more active campaign on the subject during the last election, rather than supplementing the ABCC and ROC bills with a "last minute minor change on CFA volunteers", according to Abbott Government Employment Minister Eric Abetz.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts says the party is inclined to back the ABCC and ROC bills, while it will also push for the federal government to get out of IR regulation and to beef-up the ACCC to police anti-competitive conduct by companies and unions.
Government queries basis for multi-year minimum wage target; Industrial dispute data among potential casualties of ABS cuts; Ex union official named in Royal Commission wins Labor Senate seat; Respected NZ trade union leader dies at 52.
