INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Workplace laws reset for AI job losses: union

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 11-Mar-26

The Australian Services Union has urged a "fundamental reset of workplace laws to protect workers’ time". The ASU has used its submission to an inquiry into the National Employment Standards to call for employees who lose their job due to artificial intelligence to be given at least six months’ paid notice; it contends that this would give them time to upskill, train for new roles within their organisation or look for a new job. The union has also called for the maximum working week to be set at 30.4 hours over four days, with no loss of pay.

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AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION

Unions demand five weeks of annual leave

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 4-Mar-26

The ACTU will lobby the federal government to increase full-time workers’ annual leave entitlements to five weeks a year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that Australians already do an average of 4.5 weeks of unpaid work every year, and getting back one of these weeks will result in a better rested and happier workforce. She adds that the current standard of four weeks’ annual leave for full-time workers has not changed since it was introduced in 1974. The ACTU also wants regular shift workers’ annual leave to be increased from five weeks to six, and an increase in the casual loading from 25 per cent to 27.5 per cent to compensate people who do not receive annual leave.

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ACTU

Union push to halt work in extreme heat

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Feb-26

ACTU president Michele O’Neil contends that climate hazards such as extreme heat should be treated in the same way as other workplace health and safety threats. The ACTU wants Safe Work Australia to introduce a national safety standard to allow staff to stop work due to extreme heat. Construction labourers, airport ground staff, horticulture workers and miners are amongst those who are most at risk due to extreme heat. A Safe Work Australia spokesman says it is considering a range of proposals regarding extreme heat management as part of a best practice review that is slated to be completed in mid-2026.

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SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA

Pay rises slow but still beat inflation

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 24-Dec-25

Data from the Department of Employment & Workplace Relations shows that the average pay rise in new enterprise agreements across the economy was an above-inflation 3.8 per cent in the September quarter; this compares with 4.2 per cent in the June quarter. The average increase in public sector wages was 3.6 per cent, compared with four per cent in the private sector. Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth says the data shows that Labor’s industrial relations reforms are "reinvigorating" enterprise bargaining. However, the figures show that 2.65 million workers were covered by enterprise agreements in the September quarter, down from a record 2.81 million in the three months to June.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Push for minimum pay for rideshare drivers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 9 : 17-Dec-25

The Transport Workers Union will apply to the Fair Work Commission for minimum pay and conditions for rideshare drivers. The TWU will push for drivers’ minimum hourly rates to reflect the costs of being a contractor – such as vehicle expenses, road tolls and insurance – in addition to their actual work. The TWU’s survey of 1,600 rideshare drivers has found that their average take-home pay is $15 an hour, compared with the award rate of between $26 and $32 for transport workers. The TWU also found that drivers earn an average of just $703 a week after costs, while 59 per cent are skipping meals to save money.

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TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

BHP Christmas work order penalty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 12-Nov-25

The Federal Court has ordered BHP’s Operation Services labour firm to compensate 85 miners who were directed to work at the Daunia coal mine in Queensland on Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 2019. Operation Services will be required to pay a total of $83,700 in compensation, plus a penalty of $15,000. The Mining and Energy Union’s Queensland president Mitch Hughes says the workers had been directed to work on the public holidays with no consultation or agreement. The workers will be each be paid between $800 and $2,400 each. BHP sold the Daunia mine to Whitehaven Coal in 2024.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OPERATION SERVICES, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Uber drivers sacked over sex claims reinstated

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 29-Oct-25

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that ride-sharing giant Uber must reinstate two drivers under the federal government’s unfair deactivation laws. Uber was also ordered to pay one of the drivers more than $6,000 in lost earnings after removing him from its platform in May due to several complaints about sexually inappropriate misconduct; this included a female passenger’s allegation that the driver had been sexually gratifying himself. In the second case, the FWC has yet to determine how much compensation for lost wages a driver will be entitled to following his deactivation for allegedly hugging and kissing a female passenger. In both cases the FWC found that Uber had relied on customer statements or hearsay evidence from its service team in deactivating the drivers.

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UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Snowy 2.0 buried in a wage storm

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Sep-25

The Australian Workers Union has struck a new enterprise agreement with Snowy 2.0 contractor Webuild that will boost the wages of tunnel workers. The ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workers will receive an upfront pay rise of $6,000 over a six-week roster cycle, plus an additional wage increase of 2.25 per cent every six months for four years; this will boost their annual wage to about $300,000. The wage deal also includes a 62 per cent increase in the tunnel workers’ hourly productivity allowance. The AWU’s NSW secretary Tony Callinan has conceded that the new agreement will result in a significant increase in Snowy 2.0’s labour costs. The renewable energy project is already well over budget and behind schedule.

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AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION, WEBUILD

AI a Trojan horse for IR rules, business warns

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Jul-25

A recent survey by KPMG found that Australians have lower levels of artificial intelligence use, training and confidence than their global peers. Meanwhile, business leaders are concerned that the union movement will use the federal government’s upcoming productivity summit to argue for increased workplace regulation due to the growing adoption of AI technologies. Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black says the business community will oppose any attempt to use to summit to further shift the balance of power in workplaces from employers to unions.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Gender-gap pay rulings a game-changer

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Apr-25

The Fair Work Commission has recommended large pay rises for workers covered by industry awards in sectors that have predominatly female workers. The ACTU says the FWC’s recommendations will directly increase the wages of an estimated 175,000 workers, as well as 335,000 workers whose agreements ae underpinned by awards. Amongst other things, the FWC’s expert panel has recommended a pay rise of to 28.4 per cent for early childhood educators, up to 31.2 per cent for psychologists and up to 14.1 per cent for pharmacists. The proposed wage rises would be phased in over several years, and are in addition to any increase in the minimum wage from July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU