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
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
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
Original article by Rick Wallace
The Australian – Page: 5 : 12-Sep-16
A report produced by the Menzies Research Centre and the HR Nicholls Society highlights the impact that union influence has on construction costs in Australia. The report concludes that the cost of building infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and airports is typically much higher than in the US. It cites a range of factors, including high labour costs and excessive wage claims, the pattern bargaining system and rostered days off. The report supports measures such as reinstatement of the Australian Building & Construction Commission.
CORPORATES
THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED, HR NICHOLLS SOCIETY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, BUSINESS COUNCIL (UNITED STATES), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA
Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 30-Aug-16
The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has reviewed nearly 100 enterprise agreements in response to the Fair Work Commission’s decision to strike down its pay deal with Coles. The SDA’s national secretary, Gerard Dwyer, has warned that the ruling means that the union will have to cease the long-standing practice of trading off penalty rates in return for gaining higher base rates of pay for its members. The FWC ruled that the Coles enterprise agreement breached the "no disadvantage" test.
CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION
Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Aug-16
The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has warned of the economic cost of the ACTU’s push for casual workers to become permanent employees after being in a job for six months. ACCI CEO James Pearson says modelling by Australian National University economists suggests that the proposed reform would cost the economy about $A3.7bn a year and result in the loss of 19,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The Fair Work Commission is likely to rule on the matter later in 2016.
CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION
Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 23 : 17-Aug-16
The full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled that permanent employees who were initially hired as casual staff should have the latter period of service recognised in a termination payout. The FWC had ruled earlier in 2016 that redundancy payments at engineering and shipbuilding firm Forgacs should be based only on an employee’s period of permanent employment. However, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has succeeded in having the ruling overturned on appeal.
CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FORGACS ENGINEERING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, ASC PTY LTD
Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 12-Aug-16
The Federal Circuit Court has imposed $A25,575 in penalties on Hutchinson Builders. The court found that the company did not want to award a contract to a business whose enterprise agreement lacked approval from the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The case is now being considered by Fair Work Building & Construction, and Hutchinson Builders may be subject to other sanctions.
CORPORATES
FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, HUTCHINSON BUILDERS, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA
Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-16
The role of Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross in the Victorian Country Fire Authority dispute is under scrutiny. Former CFA board member and farmer Michael Freshwater has questioned whether Ross acted impartially in the dispute over an enterprise bargaining agreement. He has written to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash requesting an independent inquiry. There have been suggestions that despite being a state issue, the CFA dispute may have affected Labor’s chances of winning the federal election.
CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, EAST GIPPSLAND LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE COUNCIL, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND REGULATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET
Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Aug-16
The support of One Nation in the Senate may be crucial to the Coalition’s chances of passing legislation to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission. The Coalition will have 30 seats in the new Senate, while the Australian Labor Party and the Greens will have 26 and nine respectively. The Coalition will need 39 votes to pass the ABCC bill in the upper house, or 114 in a joint sitting of Parliament. One Nation senator-elect Brian Burston has indicated that he is likely to support the ABCC bill.
CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT
ABIX 