Legal page 364 of 565

Esso Australia is seeking to prevent the Fair Work Commission from making a workplace determination for its Bass Strait oil and gas operations, arguing its legal basis has been "fatally undermined" by a recent High Court ruling.

The FWC has thrown out on natural justice grounds an employer's application for costs against a 75-year-old physiotherapist who died during her unfair dismissal case, having previously indicated she would "vigorously defend" any such bid.

A company providing first aid services at major events has been fined $250,000 for underpaying casuals after a medical certificate attesting its sole director was "unfit for work/school" over a five-day period that included the court hearing failed to secure an adjournment.

The MUA has failed in an attempt to extend its coverage to certain truck drivers working at the Patrick Stevedores terminal at Port Botany, after opposition from both the TWU and the employer, the Qube logistics group.

The Victorian government has introduced legislation to plug an "unfortunate" gap in how contract cleaning, security and community services workers accrue long service.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has today set down a 13-day committal hearing on blackmail charges against Victorian CFMEU leaders John Setka and Shaun Reardon to start on May 7.

A full Federal Court led by Chief Justice James Allsop has bolstered a recent decision confirming the right of employees to head the queue for entitlements after the collapse of businesses operating as corporate trustees.

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.

Confusing evidence from Rio Tinto experts might have contributed to a senior FWC member incorrectly assessing the number of safety breaches committed by a dismissed mechanic, a Commission full bench has found.

The FWC has rejected the ACTU's bid for a new entitlement for working parents and carers to work flexible hours, but has provisionally indicated it intends to publish a model award clause that will extend the right to request flexible work to casuals with six months service and require employers to provide more explanation for refusing requests.