INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

AFLW at war

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Original article by Michael Warner
Herald Sun – Page: 62 & 61 : 3-Oct-19

The AFL Players’ Association says the majority of AFLW footballers support a proposed three-year collective bargaining agreement, and a vote on the deal will be held shortly. However, a group of AFLW players who are dissatisfied with the proposed pay deal has engaged the services of law firm Maurice Blackburn to represent them. Amongst other things, the dissident group contends that AFLW players will receive a pay rise of seven per cent in 2020 when based on hourly rates, rather than 21 per cent as the AFLPA has claimed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Wesfarmers underpaid staff

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 2-Oct-19

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has attributed its latest wage underpayment scandal to a payroll error. A preliminary estimate suggests that the staff were underpaid about $15m in total, although the final figure could potentially be much higher. The error was detected during testing of a new payroll system, which found that some 2,000 current and 4,000 former employees of its industrial and safety division had been underpaid for nine years. Wesfarmers’ Bunnings hardware chain recently admitted to underpaying the superannuation entitlements of some part-time employees.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, BLACKWOODS, WORKWEAR GROUP, COREGAS, GREENCAP LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Union activities may breach building codes

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 30-Sep-19

The Australian Building & Construction Commission has warned that the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s draft pattern agreement includes clauses that breach the federal building code. Amongst other things, the New South Wales agreement allows union flags to be displayed on building sites and provides for workers to be paid for attending union meetings during bargaining. Master Builders Australia says the agreement as the most restrictive it has seen.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Setka forks out $40k of members’ funds on ad

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 26-Sep-19

Embattled Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official John Setka has criticised senator Jacqui Lambie in a full-page advertisement in the ‘Herald Sun’. Lambie has signalled that she will support the federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill unless Setka steps down as Victorian secretary of the CFMMEU. Setka has accused her of attempting to blackmail himself and the union’s members. A spokesman for Setka says the ad was "union business", so it was funded by the CFMMEU rather than Setka.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Labor’s double-dipping motion fails

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Original article by Adam Zuchetti
mybusiness.com.au – Page: Online : 17-Sep-19

The Senate has defeated a disallowance motion moved by Labor against the Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018. The regulations were introduced by the federal government to prevent casual employees ‘double-dipping’ on annual leave and other entitlements, and were adopted in the wake of the WorkPac decision. The motion, which was put by Labor Senator Don Farrell, was defeated by 33 votes to 29 on 16 September. The motion’s defeat was welcomed by Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO James Pearson, with Pearson saying he was thankful common sense had prevailed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, WORKPAC PTY LTD

Challenge to ruling on shift workers’ leave

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Sep-19

The federal government and Mondelez International plan to challenge a Federal Court decision regarding shift workers’ leave entitlements in the High Court. Mondelez, with the support of the government, had sought to cut personal and carers leave entitlements for shift workers at its Cadbury factory in Tasmania, but the Federal Court rejected its bid. Employer groups state the decision would give those who work industry-specific rosters or long hours much greater leave entitlements than those who work standard 38-hour weeks. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the Federal Court’s decision would create inequality between workers, while he noted employers had estimated the decision could increase their costs by up to $2 billion a year.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MONDELEZ AUSTRALIA (FOODS) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, CADBURY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Bosses seek Fair Work’s EBA data to allay anxiety

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Sep-19

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has called on the Fair Work Commission to release comprehensive data about its approval of enterprise agreements. Employer groups have previously expressed concern about the time it takes to get agreements approved, with ACCI CEO James Pearson saying it hopes discussion on the issue of approval times could lead to changes that would see agreement approvals become quicker, simpler and more predictable. He says that this could help to reverse the ongoing decline in enterprise agreement coverage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Battle builds over penalty rates for hair stylists, beauticians

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-Aug-19

Unions will oppose a bid by employers in the hair and beauty industry to reduce Sunday and public holiday penalty rates. The push, which would reduce wages in the sector by up to $91 a week, has been described as "disgraceful" by Hair Stylists Australia spokeswoman Vanessa Watt; she says hairdressers already receive modest pay and are often victims of wage theft. However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox contends that the sector has many similarities to the retail and pharmacy industries, whose penalty rates were cut in 2017.

CORPORATES
HAIR STYLISTS AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES

Red flags for deal that underpaid workers ignored

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 26-Aug-19

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has successfully challenged the Fair Work Commission’s decision to approve an enterprise agreement at A1 Earthworx Mining & Civil. The full bench of the FWC overturned the agreement after ruling that some staff would have been paid at 3.8 per cent below the award rates and it would have limited the employees’ access to Sunday penalty rates. The agreement had been approved by deputy president Geoff Bull, who has been ordered to reconsider the agreement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, A1 EARTHWORX MINING AND CIVIL

Closure threat over union agreement OK: Fair Work

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Aug-19

The Electrical Trades Union has indicated that it may launch coercion proceedings in the Federal Court regarding an enterprise agreement at New South Wales-based DDP Electrical Services, which excluded the ETU. The Fair Work Commission approved the agreement despite a letter from DDP to its staff which claimed that it would be out of business within six months if the ETU was successful in negotiating a new agreement. The FWC found that the warning was not a breach of ‘good faith bargaining’, as workers were still given a choice between a union and non-union agreement.

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DDP ELECTRICAL SERVICES, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION