COLLECTIVE LABOR AGREEMENTS – AUSTRALIA

Heads of ABC at odds on pay deal

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Nov-16

The ABC’s new enterprises bargaining agreement has come under scrutiny, with some executives questioning whether the public broadcaster is required to comply with the Federal Government’s workplace bargaining policy. ABC chairman Jim Spigelman has told Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd that the broadcaster’s board does not believe that it is required by law to comply with this policy. However, ABC MD Michelle Guthrie told Employment Minister Michaelia Cash in August that the EBA negotiations comply with government policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Public service union wins ABC staff pay rise

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Oct-16

The Community & Public Sector Union’s national secretary, Nadine Flood, has welcomed a new enterprise agreement for ABC employees. She notes that while not all of the union’s demands have been met, the new pay deal is much better than the initial offer from the public broadcaster’s management. The ABC put the pay deal directly to staff after negotiations with the union broke down. Amongst other things, ABC staff will receive an annual two per cent pay rise over three years, domestic violence leave and a two-week increase in paid parental leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

ABCC bill could shut out companies

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Oct-16

The Federal Government will not back down on its plan to make a national building code retrospective as part of its legislation to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission. The code will apply to all enterprise agreements that have been made since 2014, and compliance with the code will be a condition of being granted federal construction contracts. However, some pattern bargaining agreements struck by the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Electrical Trades Union in Victoria and Queensland would not comply with the proposed code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Fair Work member brands Coles penalty rates ruling ‘illogical’

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Oct-16

The decision of the Fair Work Commission’s full bench to uphold the challenge to a Coles workplace agreement by a part-time worker has wider consequences. The Coles decision prompted Woolworths, Bunnings, Target, Domino’s Pizza and other companies to suspend enterprise bargaining talks for fear of their agreements being also challenged. FWC deputy president Peter Sams criticised some aspects of the Coles decision.

CORPORATES
SUPERMARKET AND FOOD STORE SALES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Senate passes CFA laws

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Original article by Rob Harris, James Campbell
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Oct-16

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has welcomed the passing of amendments to the Fair Work Act to protect the rights of emergency services volunteers. Cash has described it as a "major victory" for Victorian Country Fire Authority volunteers in their dispute over an enterprise agreement. A total of 37 senators voted in favour of the Federal Government’s amendments, including 10 of the 11 crossbench senators, while 31 senators voted against the bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADES VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND REGULATION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Strikes to smash families’ holidays

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 15-Sep-16

The Community & Public Sector Union has flagged industrial action by Department of Immigration & Border Force employees between 26 September and 2 October 2016. The escalating dispute over a new enterprise agreement is expected to result in strike action at Australia’s international airports and cruise ship terminals, as well as cargo ports. The industrial action will coincide with school holidays in some states, which has attracted criticism from Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Macca’s workers underpaid by millions

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Original article by Ben Schneiders, Nick Toscano, Royce Millar
The Age – Page: 1 : 20-May-16

Fast-food group McDonald’s is the latest Australian company to be embroiled in a wages scandal. An investigation has revealed that many McDonald’s staff are on wages that are below the award rate when penalty rates are taken into account, due to an enterprise agreement that the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association negotiated in 2013. Penalty rates for working on weekends are excluded from the agreement.

CORPORATES
McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Unions push for casual worker rights

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 17-Mar-15

The ACTU wants casual workers to have a legal right to compulsory arbitration when employers do not "bargain in good faith". The ACTU will present its views on the matter in a submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into workplace relations. The Australian Industry Group argues in its submission that workplace agreements should include a mandatory clause about measures to improve productivity

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Call to keep lid on wage claims

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Original article by Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Jan-15

Coles, Woolworths and Billabong International are among the Australian retailers that will negotiate new workplace agreements in 2015. Other sectors in which enterprise agreements are due to be renegotiated include banking, insurance and telecommunications. Kate Carnell, the CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, notes that companies in many sectors cannot afford to grant pay rises that exceed the CPI

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, DAVID JONES LIMITED, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, LUXOTTICA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAN MURPHY’S, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ACTU

Public servants offered 0% pay rises

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Original article by Markus Mannheim
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 12 : 6-Nov-14

The Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Research Council are among the Federal Government agencies that are seeking to exclude staff pay rises from new enterprise agreements. Given that inflation is forecast to be between 2.5 and 2.75 per cent annually, these staff face the prospect of effectively having their pay cut. Military personnel have been offered a pay rise of 1.5 per cent

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION