In a reply submission ahead of an FWC full bench hearing in Sydney tomorrow, United Voice and the AEU have hit out at employers' objections to the use of a 2005 work value case to establish metalworkers as an appropriate comparator in their equal pay claim for early childhood workers.
The ETU has declared a major payday for more than 4000 Queensland apprentices it claims are owed $70 million in underpayments after a full Federal Court today held that an old State award that continued to dictate their pay was superseded three years ago.
The FWC has confirmed the retention of existing Sunday penalty rates for restaurant workers, a full bench noting employers' inability to muster persuasive evidence to support claims cuts would boost jobs.
The concept of the "farm gate" is virtual rather than physical in the horticultural sector, an FWC full bench has found in a coverage decision it backdated by eight years to ensure employers are not exposed to backpay claims.
In one of the first extended discussions about the capacity to include incidental matters in modern awards, the FWC has called for further submissions on how or whether to incorporate a standard clause that would permit employers to deduct up to five weeks pay when employees quit without giving sufficient notice.
ACTU leader Sally McManus is set to begin campaigning for major changes to minimum wage-setting, including tying it to a proportion of the median wage, along the lines of the UK's model.
After entering into an FWO compliance partnership that commits it to taking responsibility for underpayments across its trolley collection network for the past three years, Woolworths says it would welcome working with any regulatory body to ensure workers in all supply chains are paid correctly.
In an unusual case in which a coffee chain franchisee has convinced an FWC full bench to quash its agreement after claiming it and an IR consultant provided false evidence to win its approval, the tribunal will refer their statutory declarations to the Federal Police to investigate whether they have committed any crimes.
A full Federal Court will tomorrow hand down its ruling on the union bid to quash the Fair Work Commission's decision to cut penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors.
FWC President Iain Ross says a one-day conference in Sydney on Friday will focus on unpaid domestic violence leave and a possible model term, with unions and employers yet to agree on how to define family and domestic violence.
