INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – 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.

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

Discrimination rise feeds gender pay gap

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 22-Aug-19

Research by KPMG has concluded that discrimination against women accounts for 39 per cent of the gender pay gap. The research also found that although women are just as likely as their male colleagues to ask for a pay rise, women are much less likely to actually receive an increase. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons says addressing the gender pay gap requires action on the issue of "ingrained" gender stereotypes.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY, GLASSDOOR INCORPORATED

Dramatic fall in enterprise agreement delays

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-Aug-19

Data from the Fair Work Commission shows that it took an average of 35 days to approve enterprise bargaining agreements in the last six months, and an average of just 30 days in the 2018-19 financial year. The FWC has previously attracted criticism from the Australian Mines & Metals Association, which claimed that the average time it takes to approve an EBA had blown out to 76 days. AMMA CEO Steve Knott says delays in approving EBAs are being exacerbated by the way the FWC applies the ‘better-off-overall test’.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS

Unfair dismissal: retreat over pay

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Aug-19

Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code is "ambiguous and open to interpretation". She adds that small businesses would be in a better position to comply with the code if ambiguous language were removed. Carnell has also argued the case for the Fair Work Commission to establish a small business division, although she now favours reviewing the maximum compensation for unfair dismissal after a revised code has been operating for at least 12 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS

Union’s EBA push for indigenous voice

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 5-Aug-19

Menzies Research Centre director Nick Cater has criticised the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s proposed enterprise bargaining agreement with subcontractor Gabba Waterproofing. It includes a First Nations People clause, which amongst other things requires the subcontractor to hold ‘welcome to country’ ceremonies when the number of workers on the North Queensland Stadium project reaches 20. Cater says the CFMMEU’s demands are all about union turf wars rather than Aboriginal land rights. The EBA was lodged with the Fair Work Commission in July.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GABBA WATERPROOFING PTY LTD, THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA