Unions have criticised the Turnbull Government's engagement of employer-clientele law firm Seyfarth Shaw for a $90,000 review of fatalities in the construction sector.
The Federal Labor Opposition has confirmed it is at odds with key industry bodies in accepting the link between truck drivers' pay and conditions and road safety, but stopped short of committing to re-establishing the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT).
The head of the newly-merged CFMMEU, Michael O'Connor, says the mega-union will work "slowly and carefully" through the early days of creating the new organisation.
A review of the 2015 amendments to the Fair Work Act's greenfields agreements provisions has rejected union pleas to axe "last offer" arbitration - despite a failure by employers to utilise it - and has recommended reducing from six months to three the "negotiating period" before the FWC can break deadlocks.
The Federal Court has agreed to delay the trial of the AWU's bid to block the Registered Organisation Commission investigation that led to police raids on the union's offices last year.
The federal government's efforts to rein in the ballooning costs of its FEG scheme have received a significant boost after an appeal court overturned a ruling that stripped it of priority status in seeking to recover almost $4 million paid to employees of a collapsed company.
As independent federal MP Cathy McGowan vows to push for a new ministerial sex ban to be extended to all those working in Parliament, an IR lawyer says the approach has little practical use in the private sector where the focus is on disclosure.
APS Commissioner John Lloyd denies that a new public sector bargaining policy contains an added push towards individual flexibility arrangements, but the CPSU says its "explicit encouragement" along with the extension of a 2% pay rise cap undermines bargaining, wages and conditions.
The Fair Work Commission has today reserved its decision on whether to approve the merger of the CFMEU, MUA and TCFU, with employer groups arguing that proceedings seeking to recover fines and penalties should be taken into account.
A jobs guarantee and universal basic income are among the policies government must embrace if Australia is to avoid a technology-led march towards inferior low-paying jobs, a leading academic has told a Senate inquiry into the future of work.
