EMPLOYEE RIGHTS – AUSTRALIA

Casuals’ court triumph will let them ‘double-dip’: bosses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 17-Aug-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox is among the business leaders who have criticised the Federal Court’s ruling that casual employees who work regular hours are entitled to annual leave. The court found that a Queensland truck driver who worked on a fly-in, fly-out basis could not be considered to be a casual worker under the Fair Work Act due to his "regular and continuous" employment. The court’s decision has been welcomed by the ACTU and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), RECRUITMENT, CONSULTING AND STAFFING ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WORKPAC PTY LTD

Shorten’s fair-pay pledge to workers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Jul-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use an ACTU Congress speech on 17 July to press his industrial relations credentials. He will commit to legislating to ensure that labour-hire firms face prosecution for underpaying their staff. Shorten will argue that such workers should receive the same wages and conditions as directly-employed colleagues who are covered by an enterprise agreement. The Australian Industry Group says Shorten’s proposal would reduce workplace flexibility and make local businesses less competitive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

ACTU in big push to fix insecure work

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Mar-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus will use a National Press Club speech on 21 March to advocate major changes to workplace laws. She will stress the need for reforms that provide Australians with increased job security, particularly for people who work for labour hire companies. Amongst other things, McManus will call for the creation of a national labour hire licensing system, allow casual workers to become permanent employees after six months of continuous service and increase the workplace rights of people who are classified as independent contractors.

CORPORATES
ACTU, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOODORA

Ombudsman calls for tough work penalties

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 21 : 13-Apr-17

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James addressed a Senate inquiry on 12 April 2017. She conceded that the FWO has limited capacity to combat employers who deliberately ignore workplace laws because they feel that the potential financial penalties for underpaying staff are sufficiently low to make non-compliance worth the risk. James warned that employers will continue to exploit vulnerable workers unless the sanctions for non-compliance are sufficiently increased to provide a genuine deterrent. The inquiry is examining proposed changes to the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. SENATE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION COMMITEE, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Overwhelming majority of Australians support the right to strike

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 19-Oct-15

A special Roy Morgan telephone survey has found that 83 per cent of Australians aged 14+ believe that it should be legal for workers in private industry to go on strike. The survey, which was carried out from 13-15 October 2015, also shows that 80 per cent of Australians support the legal right of workers in public utilities such as trains, trams, and buses to strike. Meanwhile, 81 per cent support the right of professionals such as teachers and nurses working for the Government to strike, and 74 per cent support the rights of emergency services workers such as police, ambulance drivers and firefighters to strike. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says that analysis by demographics reveals that clear majorities of supporters of all major political parties, respondents of all age groups, residents from every State, and both men and women all believe that workers have a legal right to strike.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED