A senior FWC full bench has moved to clarify the confusion caused by conflicting decisions on whether unions that bargain for non-permitted matters are "genuinely trying to reach an agreement" under the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that it has no jurisdiction to impose conditions on industrial action when it orders a protected action ballot, rejecting Aurizon's bid for it to require the rail union to guarantee it won't interfere with the transport of perishable or hazardous goods.
Coles meatworkers in Victoria and Tasmania were entitled to vote to take protected industrial action because they had been genuinely seeking separate enterprise agreements late last year, a FWC full bench has ruled.
The MUA has given notice of four consecutive 24-hour stoppages at the marine contractor Farstad from November 15, in the latest development in enterprise bargaining involving vessel operators servicing the offshore oil and gas sector.
In an important ruling on the definition of industrial action, the Federal Court has held that the provision of sensitive information to the media by employees is not "protected" under the Fair Work Act and might leave them vulnerable to breach of contract and coercion claims.
A five-day strike at Mermaid Marine's Dampier supply base has emerged as a test of how employers and employees adapt to the winding down of major offshore resources construction projects.
The MUA has given notice of five consecutive 24-hour stoppages at the Dampier supply base operated by Mermaid Marine Australia, starting from Wednesday.
In the first real IR test of the post-July 1 Senate's precarious balance of power, Palmer United Party senators voted with their Coalition colleagues last night to preserve, by one vote, the rights of the WA government and third parties to ask the Fair Work Commission to terminate damaging industrial action.
Adding campaign material to company correspondence, answering customer inquiries with automated messages about bargaining, and placing slogans on company cars are all valid forms of industrial action, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
