Minister calls for cut to Sunday pay rates

Original article by Kim Macdonald
The West Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Nov-14

The Western Australia Government will face resistance from the union movement if it attempts to reduce penalty rates for working on weekends and public holidays. Small Business Minister Joe Francis says the high cost of penalty rates forces a lot of small businesses to close on such days, and notes that many large businesses do not have to pay such high penalty rates. Meredith Hammat of Unions WA says employees would to need to work longer hours to offset any reduction in penalty rates

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS, UNIONS WA

Residents slam church’s ‘unforgivable’ deal

Original article by Clay Lucas
The Age – Page: 10 : 24-Sep-14

The Uniting Church has been criticised for its deal with Leighton Properties for the development of a site in Lonsdale Street in central Melbourne. The Princess Mary Club will be demolished for the construction of an office tower. The heritage-listed building was erected in 1926 funded by philanthropic donations. The deal also involves the revamp of the Wesley Church and surrounding buildings

CORPORATES
LEIGHTON PROPERTIES PTY LTD, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI, UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT, PLANNING AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Steely Gillard stares down corruption questions

Original article by Marianna Papadakis, Hannah Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-Sep-14

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has appeared before the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption. She told the commission on 10 September 2014 that she did not receive any financial benefit from a union slush fund which she helped to set up in 1992. Funds from the Australian Workers’ Union Workplace Reform Association were subsequently misused by Gillard’s then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson. Gillard told the commission that, in hindsight, she would have acted differently

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION – WORKPLACE REFORM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Steely Gillard stares down corruption questions

Original article by Marianna Papadakis, Hannah Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-Sep-14

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has appeared before the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption. She told the commission on 10 September 2014 that she did not receive any financial benefit from a union slush fund which she helped to set up in 1992. Funds from the Australian Workers’ Union Workplace Reform Association were subsequently misused by Gillard’s then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson. Gillard told the commission that, in hindsight, she would have acted differently

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION – WORKPLACE REFORM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

DP World avoids WA port lockout

Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 31-Jul-14

DP World has decided not to lock out more than 200 members of the Maritime Union of Australia, who will now be able to attend a stopwork meeting on 31 July 2014. The stevedoring group and the union are engaged in a dispute over the new enterprise bargaining agreement. The union intends to exert pressure on the company by announcing a four-hour stopwork and work bans. The two parties will meet again on 1 August

CORPORATES
DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FREMANTLE PORTS, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, HUTCHISON WHAMPOA LIMITED, MERMAID MARINE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX MRM, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT, K LINE (JAPAN) LIMITED

Lend Lease victory in Barangaroo union fight

Original article by Greg Brown|Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 23 : 25-Jul-14

Australia’s Fair Work Commission has banned workers at Lend Lease Group’s Barangaroo South project in Sydney from engaging in unlawful strike action for three months. Some 1,000 members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union went on strike on 24 July 2014. The dispute centres on Lend Lease’s decision to stand down a union delegate in March after he raises concerns about safety at the construction site

CORPORATES
LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA