INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Not too late to unwind CFMMEU

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 28-Mar-18

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission will hear an appeal against the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union’s merger with the Maritime Union of Australia on 9 April. The merger formally took effect on 28 March, but the Australian Mines & Metals Association and Master Builders Australia believe that it can be overturned on legal grounds. The appeal will be based on the argument that a contempt court action against the MUA constitutes criminal proceedings, which would make the merger unlawful.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Union merger test abandoned

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Mar-18

The Federal Government will not seek to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Government has shelved plans to introduce a public interest test for union mergers after failing to secure sufficient support for the bill among crossbenchers. Australian Mines & Metals Association CEO Steve Knott and Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn have expressed disappointment with the decision.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Viterra axes pay by 24pc after union snubs hearing

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Mar-18

The Fair Work Commission has agreed to a request by grain company Viterra to terminate an enterprise agreement covering workers at its Port Lincoln terminal in South Australia. Its request followed three years of unsuccessful negotiation with the Australian Workers’ Union. As a result of the FWC’s decision, the workers in question will now come under the relevant industry award. Their pay will be cut by as much as 24 per cent, while they will no longer be entitled to generous redundancy entitlements.

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

New Senate push to kill union merger

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Mar-18

The Federal Government hopes to secure the support of Senate crossbenchers for legislation to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Nick Xenophon Team has signalled that it is open to negotiations regarding amendments to the Ensuring Integrity Bill, while the Liberal Democratic Party’s David Leyonhjelm say he is holding talks with the Government. The CFMEU-MUA merger will proceed on 27 March unless the bill is amended.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

ACTU in big push to fix insecure work

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Mar-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus will use a National Press Club speech on 21 March to advocate major changes to workplace laws. She will stress the need for reforms that provide Australians with increased job security, particularly for people who work for labour hire companies. Amongst other things, McManus will call for the creation of a national labour hire licensing system, allow casual workers to become permanent employees after six months of continuous service and increase the workplace rights of people who are classified as independent contractors.

CORPORATES
ACTU, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOODORA

Cash could face court over raids

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Age – Page: 9 : 16-Mar-18

Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, says it will seek to subpoena Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash to appear before a hearing into a police raid on the union’s offices in October 2017. The AWU also wants to subpoena Cash’s former media adviser, David De Garis, who resigned after admitting that he told the media about the raid, as well as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s former media director, Mark Lee. The latter has denied leaking details of the raid to De Garis.

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

Restaurants, cafes back retail call for pay freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Simone Fox Koob
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Mar-18

The restaurant and catering industry association has voiced its support for the National Retail Association’s call for the minimum wage to be left unchanged in 2018. Its submission to the Fair Work Commission argues that a rise in the minimum wage cannot be justified given the current economic conditions. The Australian Retailers Association has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 a week, in line with the inflation rate, while Master Grocers Australia has called for a rise of just $A7.20 a week.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, BOTTLE-O, MITRE 10 LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Retailers seek minimum-wage freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-18

National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb says the Fair Work Commission should leave the minimum wage unchanged in 2018, arguing that retailers cannot afford a rise in base wages given the current trading conditions. In contrast, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 per week, while the ACTU has pushed for a rise of $A50 a week. Labor in turn has called for an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Unions in push for $50-a-week minimum pay rise

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the ACTU’s proposal for a 7.2 per cent increase in the minimum wage would result in fewer job opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed, while people on low incomes would have less job security. He has urged the Fair Work Commission to limit the 2018 increase in the minimum wage to 1.8 per cent, which equates to $A12.50 a week. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in turn supports a 1.9 per cent increase, or $A13.20 a week. The FWC approved a 3.3 per cent rise in the minimum wage in 2017.

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

Employers lash Coalition on union merger

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Mar-18

The merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia is slated to take effect on 27 March, after it was approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Australian Mines & Metals Association has urged the Federal Government to push for the Senate to block the merger prior to this date, although Workplace Relations Minister Craig Laundy argues that the Ensuring Integrity Bill is not retrospective so it would have no impact on the merger. The merged union will boast 144,000 members and $A310m worth of assets.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS