INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Wage rise will cost jobs: retailers

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

Master Grocers Australia has urged the Fair Work Commission to limit the 2019 increase in the minimum wage to 1.2 per cent, which equates to $8.60 a week. It warns that a large increase in the minimum wage would force independent retailers to cut staff numbers or allocate more shifts to junior employees. The ACTU is pushing for the minimum wage to be increased by $43 a week, while the Victorian and Queensland governments have called for it to be increased by $40.66 and $25 a week respectively.

CORPORATES
MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, CELLARBRATIONS, THE BOTTLE-O, DUNCAN’S LIQUOR

Wharfies to strike over pay scheme

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Mar-19

DP World’s container terminal at Fremantle will be affected by work bans and rolling stoppages from 19 March. The indefinite industrial action is likely to be extended to DP World’s other container terminals in Australia in coming weeks unless the dispute is resolved. The Maritime Union of Australia has objected to DP World’s proposal to scrap an income protection scheme. The union is also seeking an annual pay rise of five per cent over three years, but DP World has offered a 2.6 per cent increase.

CORPORATES
DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Call to freeze wages for low-paid

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Mar-19

Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO Juliana Payne has warned that the ACTU’s push to increase the minimum wage to 60 per cent of median earnings will result in job cuts. She says there should be no increase in the minimum wage in 2019 due to the above-inflation increases of recent years, and notes that the sector cannot pass on the cost of wage rises to customers. Meanwhile, the Australian Retailers ­Association supports a 1.8 per cent increase in the minimum wage, although a survey has found that about 50 per cent of its members favour leaving it unchanged in 2019.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

ACTU wants living wage in two years

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-19

The ACTU will seek a six per cent increase in the minimum wage in 2019, followed by a 5.5 per cent rise in 2020. This equates to an increase of about $72.80 a week over two years, to almost $42,000 a year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the current minimum wage condemns many people to living below the poverty line. The Fair Work Commission rejected the ACTU’s push for a 7.2 per cent rise in the minimum wage in 2018, warning that such a large increase would result in many low-income workers losing their jobs or having their hours of work reduced.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Shorten hit on fat cat employers

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Original article by Ben Packham, Greg Brown, Jessica Cortis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor could legislative to mandate that the Fair Work Commission must take into account the needs of low-income workers when setting the minimum wage. He argues that the methodology for determining the minimum wage has not changed since the 1980s. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox rejects suggestions that the FWC does not give sufficient weight to the needs of low-paid workers, noting that the last two increases in the minimum wage were well above the inflation rate and average wage movements.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Labor, ACTU hose down wage fears

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Mar-19

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has committed to ensuring that the minimum wage is increased to become a living wage if Labor wins the federal election. Shorten and ACTU secretary Sally McManus have both expressed support for the Fair Work Commission continuing to have responsibility for setting a living wage, as well as the timeframe for transitioning from the minimum wage. Prime Minister Scott Morrison contends that economic growth rather than increased taxes is the best way to lift wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Jail for employers exploiting workers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-Mar-19

The federal goverment has expressed in-principle support for the 22 recommendations made in the report of the Migrant Workers’ Taskforce. The report found that many migrant workers are victims of wage exploitation, and recommended harsher penalties for underpayment. The government is set to announce criminal sanctions for "clear, deliberate and systemic" underpayment of works, despite opposition from employers’ groups. It also intends to establish a national labour-hire registration scheme covering industries where wage exploitation is widespread.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Permaflexi plan a ruse to reduce pay, unions war

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 12 : 1-Mar-19

Health Services Union secretary Lloyd Williams has criticised a push by employers for the Fair Work Commission to recognise a new category of employment. So-called ‘permaflexi’ workers would be paid a 10 per cent loading in exchange for flexible rostering, while they would also receive sick leave and annual leave entitlements. The NSW Business Chamber’s application states that workers who are hired under a "flexible ongoing employment" arrangement would have a minimum of 1-3 hours’ work per week.

CORPORATES
HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER LIMITED, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Taxpayers’ $830k legal bill for ROC hearings

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-Feb-19

Mark Bielecki, the head of the Registered Organisations Commission, has told a Senate estimates hearing that the legal costs arising from raids on Australian Workers’ Union offices have topped $550,000. This is in addition to the $288,000 that Small Business Minister Michaelia Cash has spent on legal representation. Cash came under scrutiny by Labor members of the committee over the evidence she gave to the Australian Federal Police after details of the raids were leaked to the media.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

South32-run Port Kembla locks out union over rolling stoppages

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Feb-19

Members of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union were denied access to the Port Kembla Coal Terminal on 18 February, amid growing tensions over negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement. The lockout will remain in force until 27 February, and coal will be loaded onto ships using contractors. South32, which partly owns the coal terminal, is currently engaged in conciliation talks regarding a separate EBA for workers at its New South Wales mines.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, PORT KEMBLA COAL TERMINAL LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY