The Albanese Government did not take a policy favouring industry or sectoral bargaining to the May 21 election, but it has expressed support for New Zealand's model during official discussions this month at the International Labour Organisation.
A finding that the FWC cannot keep dealing with disputes brought under old agreements once a new deal comes into effect has produced "arbitrary, anomalous and nonsensical outcomes" and is wrong, a full bench has held, calling for an amendment to the Fair Work Act to reflect the new precedent.
The FSU is seeking annual pay rises of 6% in bargaining at both Westpac and NAB, arguing the hefty increases are justified by the inflation spike and the major banks' continuing strong profits.
A senior FWC member has thrown out a union challenge to a Commonwealth-owned business's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, while observing that having a "predisposed view" does not mean an employer has failed to genuinely consult about new policies.
NSW's Perrottet Government has raised its 2.5% wage ceiling to 3% next financial year and up to 3.5% in 2023-24, in the face of incomes falling behind consumer price inflation and unions taking industrial action seeking to scrap the cap.
The FWC in upholding the sacking of an unvaccinated KFC worker has found it "regrettable" HR sent auto-generated letters that led her to believe she was dismissed for abandoning her job.
An unregistered union accusing major employers of refusing to include it in bargaining meetings with its rival warns it undermines collective bargaining, after the FWC this month supported Coles' decision not to include a paid bargaining agent in meetings with the UWU.
A FWC senior member who once served as Fortescue's HR manager has observed in the course of granting its bid to transfer outsourced workers to a direct-employment deal that doing the same work for lesser conditions "inevitably" leads to discontent and would be "unfair".
A paid bargaining agent has failed to force Coles to give him a seat at the bargaining table with the UWU, after the FWC rejected his bid for a bargaining order, finding the Act doesn't require a single bargaining unit and that the supermarket giant provided "clear and sensible" reasons for separate negotiations.
Agreement approvals have almost halved in the space of about a decade, according to the latest three-yearly FWC general manager's reports, while almost 60% of the 12,300 endorsed in the most recent reporting period contained undertakings.
