INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

‘Urgent meeting’: ABC peace deal over pay on brink of collapse

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has accused the ABC’s management of backing away from a key clause in the in-principle pay deal that was struck in late March and aimed at ending an industrial dispute. The clause granted automatic pay grade increases to ABC employees on band 5 of its pay scale; however, the MEAA says the ABC now claims that the clause will only apply to performance appraisals that have been completed since 2023. MEAA members wil discuss the possibility of further industrial action today, following the recent 24-hour strike that disrupted the ABC’s broadcast schedule.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Seismic 40pc pay ruling set to reshape teen jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 1-Apr-26

Coles, Woolworths and McDonald’s are expected to be amongst the large companies that will be affected by the Fair Work Commission’s decision to abolish junior pay rates for young adults. The landmark ruling will apply to more than 500,000 employees aged 18-20 across the fast food, retail and pharmacy sectors; they will be progressively shifted to adult wages over the four years from December, resulting in them receiving pay rises of up to 42 per cent. The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has likened the decision to the awarding of equal pay for women in the 1970s. However, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s CEO Andrew McKellar warns that employers in the affected sectors are likely to hire staff who are older and have more experience.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ABC slightly sweetens its pay offer to staff

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 5 : 1-Apr-26

Jocelyn Gammie from the Community & Public Sector Union says it will recommend that members vote in favour of a revised pay offer from the ABC. The improved pay deal has also been welcomed by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, a week after members of the two unions staged a 24-hour strike at the public broadcaster. The ABC has proposed a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years, which represents an 0.5 per cent improvement on its initial offer; however, the broadcaster has removed a $1,000 bonus from the negotiating table.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

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.

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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