Conservative state governments and employer groups have warned the Fair Work Commission that this year's increase in minimum wages needs to be modest to avoid hurting employment.
The Federal Court has held that the Fair Work Commission can't refuse to approve agreements because they would undermine collective bargaining, in the latest ruling on the John Holland deal covering just three workers.
The Coalition has warned public servants there will be "minimal capacity for wage increases" in bargaining to replace 114 enterprise agreements covering 165,000 employees that are due to expire on June 30.
The Coalition has added the former Labor government's legislation extending Australia's migration zone to cover all offshore resources activity to the "red tape" it is targeting for repeal.
The Victorian Supreme Court has ordered the CFMEU construction and general division to give Boral Resources the mobile phone numbers of seven of its senior officials to help the company in contempt proceedings against the union for allegedly breaching an injunction not to blockade a Regional Rail Link project site in Melbourne's western suburbs.
In dismissing corporate director Kate Shea's general protections case against EnergyAustralia, the Federal Court has ruled that employment complaints must be based on genuinely-held grievances and not made for an ulterior purpose if they are to form the basis of a workplace right.
The federal government's decision as part of its "red tape" repeal campaign to rescind the IR guidelines for government cleaning contracts suggests it is "willing to turn a blind eye to labour law non-compliance by its own contractors", according to a procurement expert, Melbourne Law School associate professor John Howe.
Gender reporting requirements for businesses with more than 100 employees will stay as they are for another year, while new minimum reporting standards will apply to non-government employers with more than 500 employees from October, Employment Minister Eric Abetz has announced.
In an important decision, a Fair Work Commission full bench has ruled that regular overtime can be classified as earnings when determining whether the remuneration of workers making unfair dismissal claims is below the statutory limit.
