INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Penalty rate cuts will not save jobs: Citi

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

Heads of ABC at odds on pay deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Nov-16

The ABC’s new enterprises bargaining agreement has come under scrutiny, with some executives questioning whether the public broadcaster is required to comply with the Federal Government’s workplace bargaining policy. ABC chairman Jim Spigelman has told Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd that the broadcaster’s board does not believe that it is required by law to comply with this policy. However, ABC MD Michelle Guthrie told Employment Minister Michaelia Cash in August that the EBA negotiations comply with government policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Public service union wins ABC staff pay rise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Oct-16

The Community & Public Sector Union’s national secretary, Nadine Flood, has welcomed a new enterprise agreement for ABC employees. She notes that while not all of the union’s demands have been met, the new pay deal is much better than the initial offer from the public broadcaster’s management. The ABC put the pay deal directly to staff after negotiations with the union broke down. Amongst other things, ABC staff will receive an annual two per cent pay rise over three years, domestic violence leave and a two-week increase in paid parental leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Fair Work member brands Coles penalty rates ruling ‘illogical’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Oct-16

The decision of the Fair Work Commission’s full bench to uphold the challenge to a Coles workplace agreement by a part-time worker has wider consequences. The Coles decision prompted Woolworths, Bunnings, Target, Domino’s Pizza and other companies to suspend enterprise bargaining talks for fear of their agreements being also challenged. FWC deputy president Peter Sams criticised some aspects of the Coles decision.

CORPORATES
SUPERMARKET AND FOOD STORE SALES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Unions want four-year wage targets

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Oct-16

United Voice, which represents hospitality industry workers, claims that the minimum wage now comprises just 53 per cent of median earnings, compared with 62 per cent in 1997. The union’s submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review argues for the introduction of a "floor" to ensure that the minimum wage does not fall below 60 per cent of the median wage. United Voice also proposes the introduction of four-year targets for increases in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
UNITED VOICE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CONSERVATIVE PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN)

‘Loaded’ hourly rates could replace penalties

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Sep-16

Australia’s penalty rates system needs to be modernised. In its current form, it is incompatible with a 24-hour retail world. Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross suggested at "The Australian Financial Review"’s retail summit on 29 September 2016 that weekend penalty rates should be abolished in exchange for a higher hourly rate for workers employed at retail and fast-food outlets. Ross gave an example of the Hospitality Industry Award as a model that could be used in the retail sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ACTU, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

BHP Coal ordered to reinstate miner after scab comment

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 29-Sep-16

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that BHP Billiton’s coal division must reinstate an employee at its Saraji mine in Queensland, who was sacked for using the word "scab". A mine manager had argued that the use of the word "scab" was much worse in the industrial relations context than using certain swear words in the workplace.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Strikes to smash families’ holidays

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 15-Sep-16

The Community & Public Sector Union has flagged industrial action by Department of Immigration & Border Force employees between 26 September and 2 October 2016. The escalating dispute over a new enterprise agreement is expected to result in strike action at Australia’s international airports and cruise ship terminals, as well as cargo ports. The industrial action will coincide with school holidays in some states, which has attracted criticism from Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Rio miner bullied for working too hard

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 13-Sep-16

The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an unfair dismissal claim by an employee at Rio Tinto’s Mount Thorley coal mine in the Hunter Valley. The employee and a colleague were sacked over allegations that they had bullied another employee, while a third man was reprimanded. Their victim has claimed that they believed that he was working too hard during his shifts. Although he did not make a formal complaint about the bullying, Rio Tinto took action after the three men attempted to box in their victim’s car on a highway.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION