FWC President Adam Hatcher will convene a directions hearing on Wednesday for what might be the first substantive test of the Secure Jobs' intractable bargaining declaration provisions, after the United Firefighters Union sought to break an impasse with Fire Rescue Victoria over wage rises for thousands of firefighters.
The RBA is anticipating stronger wage growth for the rest of the year than it did a few months ago, thanks to the removal of states' wages caps, the FWC's substantial minimum pay ruling and the aged care work value rise.
The FSU is urging members at NAB to accept a revised "benchmark" agreement offer that will lift their pay by as much as 17.5% and boost the ability to work from home, but the union says the improvements are not enough for it to call off Federal Court action over excessive hours.
A FWC full bench has extended a mango farm's zombie agreement for one more picking season to fulfil the seasonal worker program's requirement that a single industrial instrument apply for the duration of employment, while it has found the question of whether employees are better off overall is not an "express consideration".
New DEWR data shows that bargained private sector wages grew at 3.9% a year in the March quarter - the fastest rate of increase in more than a decade, but still a long way behind inflation.
The FWC has refused to suspend engineers' industrial action at a Virgin Australia subsidiary while their employer pursues an intractable bargaining declaration, in an early test of the new Secure Jobs provision.
The agency that advises the Federal Government on the pricing of aged care says the FWC's historic work value case will result in average pay increases of 11.5% for nurses working in the sector.
Svitzer Australia workers have voted up a new national towage deal despite the MUA urging members to reject it in a late about-turn prompted by concerns that a union-proposed clause might let the company "outsource at any time" following consultation.
Bunnings workers have voted up a long-awaited deal that introduces an extra week of annual leave, trials a four-day working week and scraps a contentious "bank of hours" rostering system, but RAFFWU claims it undercuts award minimums and is "simply not approvable in its current format".
The RBA is continuing to warn about the dangers of a wage-price spiral, saying the chances of it have declined, but could rise again if the FWC awards a "large" minimum rise this year or government employers ease or drop pay caps.