INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

ALP’s return to olden days of IR

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 7 : 3-Apr-21

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says Labor’s proposed industrial relations policy would "seriously undermine" the nation’s economic recovery. Amongst other things, Labor intends to abolish the Australian Building & Construction Commission and scrap the government’s building code if it wins the next federal election. Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash notes that the ABCC has recovered more than $2.7m in wages and entitlements for some 4,200 employees since it was reinstated in 2016, while it has secured $12.7m in penalties for breaches of workplace laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT

Gig workers, truckie safety, industrial deaths on Labor’s agenda

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Apr-21

Delegates at Labor’s two-day national conference have backed key measures in the party’s industrial relations platform, including minimum entitlements for workers in the gig economy and the introduction of national industrial manslaughter laws. Labor will also abolish the Australian Building & Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission if it wins the next federal election, and scrap the government’s building code and union demerge laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Office staff get to keep pandemic flex time

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 24-Dec-20

The Fair Work Commission has extended flexible working arrangements for employees who are covered by the clerks award until the end of June 2021. The ordinary hours of work for clerical employees while telecommuting were extended beyond traditional working hours earlier in 2020, in response to the coronavirus. The FWC has also introduced additional flexibilities with regard to the hours of work for clerical staff while working from home.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Union calls for minimum wage for fruit pickers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Dec-20

The Australian Workers’ Union will push for changes to the Horticulture Award to address the issue of wage exploitation in the sector. The ASU has applied to the Fair Work Commission to vary the industry award to include a wage floor for seasonal farm workers. The union’s proposal would provide a guaranteed minimum wage of $24.80 an hour, although piece rates would still be allowed. A recent investigation found that some fruit-pickers in the in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales were being paid just $3 an hour.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Union takes Tax Office bosses to Federal Court in work from home row

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Original article by Noel Towell
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Dec-20

The Australian Services Union has commenced legal action against senior executives at the Australian Taxation Office. The ASU alleges that the executives – including Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan – were in breach of workplace laws and the ATO’s enterprise agreement, which includes working at home provisions. The union claims that ATO staff who had been working from home due to the pandemic were ordered to return to their offices without the required notice period when the federal government announced stimulus measures such as the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme.

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AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

IR reforms could save billions in back pay

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 2-Dec-20

The federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill will be put before parliament before it rises for the year. The bill is expected to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 2 December, along with a proposed legislative response to the Workpac v Rossato case. The Federal Court ruled that casual staff who work "regular and predictable" hours are entitled to benefits such as paid annual leave in addition to a casual loading. The government is believed to be considering reforms that would allow employers to use a casual worker’s 25 per cent loading to help offset any retrospective leave liability.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

WHSmith admits underpaying 1500 workers by $2.2 million

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: Online : 6-Nov-20

WHSmith Australia has agreed to an enforceable undertaking after admitting that its employees had been underpaid some $2.2m between October 2013 and April 2019. The underpayment affected about 1,500 employees of the retailer, which has provided backpay totalling $2.257m to past and present staff. The company, which reported the underpayment to the Fair Work Ombudsman, will also make a ‘contrition payment’ of $50,000.

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WH SMITH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

‘CFMEU totally dysfunctional’: O’Connor quits

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Nov-20

Michael O’Connor has resigned as national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. O’Connor has attributed his departure to disunity caused by the ongoing fallout from a dispute with John Setka, the head of the union’s Victorian division. He says the CFMMEU is no longer united in purpose, and people within the organisation are not willing to work together or act in the interests of the union and its members. His departure is likely to strengthen the influence of Setka within the CFMMEU.

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

Unions push for better protections as 80% of employees say they want to keep working from home

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Nov-20

The ACTU proposes to adopt a charter of rights about working from home. The charter covers issues such as a safe working environment and the right to be compensated for all hours worked from home. Meanwhile, the ACTU has released a survey of 10,000 workers which found that 81 per cent want to keep working from home if they have sufficient support from their employer. Some 47% of respondents said they are more productive at home, while 49 per cent reported experiencing a mental health issue due to working from home.

CORPORATES
ACTU

Collective bargaining win a big step for gig workers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-Oct-20

University of Sydney labour law professor Shae McCrystal has welcomed a decision to grant a class exemption for small businesses and franchisees to collectively negotiate with suppliers and customers. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s ruling will allow independent contractors and gig economy workers to engage in collective bargaining. However, the Transport Workers’ Union contends that the ruling will not protect gig economy workers from being sacked by companies such as Uber.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD