The NTEU has contributed to a doubling of Indigenous employment in tertiary education over the past two decades, by creating a "unique" union structure and using collective bargaining to establish employment targets and other Indigenous-specific provisions in enterprise agreements, an academic says.
An industry group is hoping to press ahead with a pioneering multi-employer agreement for heating, ventilation and air conditioning businesses in NSW, after the AMWU provided reassurance that it remains committed to negotiations derailed by a contested union election.
The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association says it is doing its job by developing a roadmap for securing fast rollover agreements to avoid universities being "roped in" to multi-employer deals.
The AWU will trial a centralised "strategic bargaining initiative" with major national employers - like Boral, Hanson and John Holland - because they are "exploiting" the union's state-by-state, site-by-site approach to enterprise negotiations.
The Tasmanian Government's anti-protest legislation, recently introduced to parliament, could be turned against unions, according to the State's peak union body.
The UWU has closed Hospo Voice, Australia's first "digital-only" union, while maintaining it has provided valuable lessons and tools as organised labour seeks to counter its weakness in attracting and retaining young workers.
The leader of the ANMF's West Australian branch, Mark Olson, is stepping down after 24 years in the job and an often mercurial approach, which included taking the view that unions should not "shy away" from the Abbott Government's Heydon royal commission into trade unions.
