Legal page 543 of 569

The ACTU will push for the Fair Work Commission's four-year modern award review to create a common clause giving more than two million casual workers the right to become permanent employees.

The Federal Court has fined the CFMEU's construction and general division and five of its officials more than $150,000 for contravening right of entry laws, prompting FWBC director Nigel Hadgkiss to state that entry permits are a "privilege", and not a licence to act unlawfully.

The Fair Work Commission has rejected Patricks' bid for orders requiring five workers - and their solicitor - to provide security for costs of up to $25,000 each prior to their unfair dismissal claims being heard.

The mere fact that bargaining is "difficult" is unlikely to justify granting a low-paid authorisation for a multi-employer agreement, a failed application by United Voice in the security industry demonstrates.

The NUW has demonstrated majority support for it to bargain for an enterprise agreement to cover warehouse employees at one of Cotton On's two Australian distribution centres – despite the company arguing that a single agreement should cover the workers at both sites.

The HSU has told the Federal Court that bank records it has obtained while pursuing its $700,000 civil claims against national secretary Kathy Jackson reveal that she has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional unauthorised spending, but the union might allow "other authorities" to pursue the sums on its behalf.

A hotel chef breached his contractual duty of fidelity and fiduciary duties by sourcing chicken schnitzels through his wife's business and selling them to his employer for $1 more than their original purchase price, a court has found.

Global smelting company Nyrstar had a valid reason to sack two workers for a history of bullying behaviour, but its failure to deal with the conduct over a long period and to put specific allegations to them meant the dismissals were unfair, the FWC has ruled.

In the first real IR test of the post-July 1 Senate's precarious balance of power, Palmer United Party senators voted with their Coalition colleagues last night to preserve, by one vote, the rights of the WA government and third parties to ask the Fair Work Commission to terminate damaging industrial action.

Employees are not entitled to bring a support person to a meeting to investigate a workplace incident that might result in dismissal, a FWC full bench has ruled in overturning the reinstatement of a long-serving forklift driver.