INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Abbott: PM must sell penalty rates cut harder

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Original article by Joe Kelly, David Crowe, Ewin Hannan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-Mar-17

Some Coalition MPs have urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to more actively promote the economic benefits of the Fair Work Commission’s decision on Sunday penalty rates. Former prime minister Tony Abbott has also urged Turnbull to place more emphasis on the potential for job creation as a result of the ruling, and says a proposal by Coalition backbencher Eric Abetz to "grandfather" the new penalty rates regime has merit. However, this is opposed by employers’ groups and the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten pays penalty as IR attack undermined

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Feb-17

The ACTU estimates that employees affected by the Fair Work Commission’s ruling on Sunday penalty rates face a reduction of between $1,800 and $A6,600 in their take-home pay. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to overturning the FWC’s decision, but Employ­ment Minister Michaelia Cash notes that the FWC was given powers to review penalty rates when Shorten was workplace relations minister. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in turn noted that Shorten has previously said he would accept the FWC’s ruling on penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Fair Work dysfunction needs fixing

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jan-17

The Fair Work Commission is under scrutiny following the resignation of vice-president Graeme Watson, who accused it of being "‘partisan, dysfunctional and divided". Australian Mines & Metals Association CEO Steve Knott has called for a review of the FWC, while former prime minister Tony Abbott claims that it is "pro union and anti-jobs". Eight members of the FWC have either resigned or opted for early retirement since 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Growth-sapping GST must face overhaul: miners

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-17

The Minerals Council of Australia has used its submission to the Productivity Commission’s five-year productivity review to urge changes to the system for distributing goods and services tax revenue. The MCA argues that the current system redirects GST revenue from states that have encouraged the development of natural resources to states that place strictures on mining and energy projects. The MCA has also called for a reduction in the corporate tax rate and action to address the power of unions under the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

New whistleblower protections could hit senior CFMEU officials

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-16

Former Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union organisers Andrew Quirk and Brian Miller are continuing to challenge their sacking after revealing in 2014 that the union’s New South Wales branch had links to an underworld figure. They are being represented by lawyer Chris McArdle, who argues that they would have had much greater protection if the Federal Government’s new whistleblower laws had been in place at the time of their dismissal.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

Union’s law-breaking ‘knows no bounds’

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

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has been fined for failing to comply with the Fair Work Act in its dealings with Hindmarsh Construction Australia. The company was the head contractor on a $105m apartment project in Brisbane, and the court upheld claims that the CFMEU had used a threat of industrial action to force Hindmarsh to accede to its demands. The CFMEU and its former national president Dave Hanna have been fined $A37,500.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, HINDMARSH CONSTRUCTION AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Super-union not finished yet with mergers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Dec-16

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) is merging with the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). A memorandum of understanding for the merger was signed on 14 December 2016. CFMEU national secretary Michael O’Connor and MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said more mergers will be considered if they are advantageous to members.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Penalty rate cuts will not save jobs: Citi

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 23 : 1-Dec-16

Per Capita’s Tim Lyons says a report from Citigroup shows that retailers would not hire additional staff if penalty rates are reduced. The report concludes that retailers are likely to pass the benefits of lower penalty rates on to their shareholders in the form of higher returns or by cutting prices for consumers. It also notes that the enterprise agreements of many listed retailers have expired, and suggests that they are not renewing the agreements due to expectations of a reduction in penalty rates.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PER CAPITA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ACTU, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JUST GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Penalty rate cuts will not save jobs: Citi

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 23 : 1-Dec-16

Per Capita’s Tim Lyons says a report from Citigroup shows that retailers would not hire additional staff if penalty rates are reduced. The report concludes that retailers are likely to pass the benefits of lower penalty rates on to their shareholders in the form of higher returns or by cutting prices for consumers. It also notes that the enterprise agreements of many listed retailers have expired, and suggests that they are not renewing the agreements due to expectations of a reduction in penalty rates.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PER CAPITA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ACTU, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JUST GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Hotel chain ripped off migrant cleaners

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Nov-16

An audit undertaken by Oaks Hotels and Resorts revealed that 1,502 migrant workers were collectively underpaid some $A1.9m in the year to August 2016. The hotel chain undertook the audit after the Fair Work Ombudsman threatened to launch legal action over allegations of wage exploitation by an Oaks subsidiary, Housekeepers Pty Ltd. The company had deemed the migrant workers at 40 of its hotels to be independent contracts rather than employees. It initially provided 16 workers with some $A13,000 in back pay, but the FWO subsequently found that the underpayments had continued.

CORPORATES
OAKS HOTELS AND RESORTS LIMITED, HOUSEKEEPERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, UNITED VOICE, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX