The FWC looks set to arbitrate the bargaining deadlock at Fire Rescue Victoria next year, after it scheduled a hearing date next month to hear threshold issues arising from its first intractable bargaining declaration.
FWC President Adam Hatcher says there are early indications the tribunal's new powers are starting to influence bargaining behaviour, while he is also urging legal and HR practitioners to look into a recent case that "signposts a way to remedy gender undervaluation at the granular workplace level".
A judge has lamented the shortage of "common sense" on display in a case in which a union contends a government agency breached its agreement's secure jobs and consultation provisions when it engaged a roadworks contractor.
In a significant ruling on agreement coverage, a full Federal Court has found that two Catholic school teachers are entitled to pay rises contained in new deals despite resigning before they took effect.
The FWC will allow the Independent Education Union to start preparing evidence to support an intractable bargaining application for Catholic schools in Western Australia, ahead of teachers voting on the employer's third unilateral offer.
The union that won the first multi-employer bargaining authorisation under the Secure Jobs provisions is now seeking an intractable bargaining declaration as Catholic school teachers prepare to vote on a third unilateral offer after two years of fruitless single-interest bargaining.
The RTBU and ASU will today test whether employers can make deals directly with their employees after the termination of protected action to bypass the subsequent 21 days of negotiations and avoid the ensuing arbitration of an agreement.
The FWC's first intractable bargaining declaration looks set to referred tomorrow for arbitration following a fortnight of further negotiations between the UFU's Victorian branch and Fire Rescue Victoria.
The Australian Education Union told the FWC this afternoon that its revised application for a multi-employer bargaining authorisation for 12 TAFE institutes in Victoria might assuage employer concerns.
