The FWC has suspended the entry permit of the CFMEU construction division's sole Wollongong organiser over a "moderately serious" breach soon after the union engaged him five years ago, and which late last year earned him a $4000 fine.
A CFMMEU official who pushed a site manager and knocked his hard hat off has copped a $10,500 fine and orders to personally fork out 30%, while the repeat offender's latest transgression has cost the union more than $70,000.
In what a leading labour law academic describes as a "victory for common sense", a full court has quashed a ruling that union officials cannot use their right to enter premises for discussions with members to gather signatures on petitions or "secure a commitment to a particular course of action in the future".
A court has roasted a construction contractor for the "deficient evidence" it relied on for its "complete denial" that it breached entry laws when it blocked CFMMEU officials from inspecting a suspected safety flaw they identified after entering a site to examine another possible contravention.
In what is believed to be the first interlocutory injunction to provide union entry for discussion purposes, the Federal Court has ordered a project head contractor to permit ETU organisers to access labour hire linesworkers on a 900km, $2.2 billion interstate power transmission interconnector.
The Federal Court has today reversed a judge's finding that a CFMMEU organiser directed a "disgusting" homophobic slur towards a construction project's safety advisor, while it also axed a personal payment order against him.
DP World has failed to persuade the FWC that MUA officials should be blocked from attending one-on-one "feedback" meetings with management when members seek their presence.
The ETU has confirmed that it will challenge a Federal Court ruling that "neuters" unions' rights to enter workplaces to organise workers through a restrictive interpretation of provisions allowing access for "discussions" with employees.
Union officials can't use their right to enter premises for discussions with members to gather signatures on petitions or "secure a commitment to a particular course of action in the future", the Federal Court has found, ruling in favour of an employer that blocked access for an organiser who sought workers' backing for a majority support determination.
In a significant decision on the nature of work, the FWC has found that the nursing home at the centre of one of Queensland's deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks should have paid employees for the time spent taking rapid antigen tests before the start of their shifts.