Labour costs have now dropped by more than 9% in the past year, while working hours have started to recover, according to ABS statistics released this morning that measure more than six months of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Support among workers for performing their duties from home, compressing their hours and job sharing has increased dramatically during COVID-19, according to university research commissioned by the FWC as it considers inserting a WFH clause in the clerical award.
The FWC has found the MUA should have followed the NSW chief medical officer's advice to return to the docks after OHS representatives issued a "cease work" order in response to wharfies contracting COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic.
Working from home is here to stay and will be "more effective for all" if it is supported by formal policies, hours are "relatively fixed hours" and it is voluntary, according to one of two university studies commissioned by the FWC as it considers inserting a WFH clause in the clerks award.
The ANMF has welcomed a Victorian Government plan for an Australian-first scheme to introduce nurse/carer to resident ratios in private sector aged care, calling for it to be adopted in other states and territories.
The ALP will consider its IR platform at a "virtual" national conference in late March next year, possibly just ahead of an early Federal election, while the ACTU's next triennial congress is also likely to go online.
An internal ACTU report says that employers and unions involved in the Morrison Government's IR working groups ended up at loggerheads over proposals to overhaul the award system, but found common cause on using shared data on award pay rates and entitlements.
The Morrison Government's five IR working groups failed to reach agreement on major changes to the Fair Work Act, according to a confidential ACTU report.
The FWC has declined to hear an NRL assistant coach's late claim that his club unfairly dismissed him during the season's temporary suspension due to COVID-19, but has conceded that he might reasonably feel "particularly aggrieved" about his selection for redundancy.
