INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Millions can cash out leave

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 23 : 4-Aug-16

Almost two million Australian employees who are covered by the modern industrial awards system will now have the option of cashing out part of their annual leave entitlement. The Fair Work Commission’s decision to allow cashing out has the support of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, although ACTU secretary Dave Oliver has expressed concern about the potential ramifications of the decision. The FWC is expected to issue a ruling on weekend penalty rates in September 2016.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU

Estate agency paid worker $9 an hour

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 13 : 8-Jul-16

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s office has received a complaint from an employee of a real estate agency in Hawthorn, Victoria, about being underpaid. The worker was paid $A9 an hour, or less than $A375 a week, while the national minimum wage is $A17.70 an hour, or $A672.70 a week. The ombudsman is also investigating a number of other cases of underpayment of wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

United Voice penalty rates push key to marginal swing

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Australian – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-16

David McElrea, the assistant secretary of United Voice, says the union movement’s campaign on the issue of penalty rates in 10 marginal was a significant contributor to the large swing to the Australian Labor Party in the federal election. The union-backed campaign included text messages, robocalling and digital advertising, and played on fears that the Coalition would reduce weekend penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors if it is re-elected.

CORPORATES
UNITED VOICE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, REACHTEL PTY LTD

Legal woes mount for CFMEU

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Jul-16

The liquidator of two failed building contractors has alleged that officials and employees of the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union threatened to commit unlawful acts. It has also been alleged that they attempted to induce subcontractors at a Melbourne construction site to break their contracts. The Federal Court recently fined the CFMEU some $A180,000 for its role in an illegal blockade of a construction site.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, GROCON PTY LTD, PENTRIDGE VILLAGE PTY LTD, WEST HOMES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, CAPITAL FINANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IMPROVED CONCRETE PUMPING SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Patrick bid to end dispute on enterprise agreement

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 24-Jun-16

Stevedoring firm Patrick wants the Fair Work Commission to intervene in a dispute over a new enterprise agreement with the Maritime Union of Australia. Patrick will ask the commission to order the union to respond to the company’s proposal, which was made in April 2016. The union criticised the move but it said it has no plans to put pressure on the company through industrial action before the federal election on 2 July.

CORPORATES
PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Fears 7-Eleven workers could be left in cold

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 21 : 23-Jun-16

A 7-Eleven store in Brisbane has been ordered to pay a penalty of more than $A400,000 for worker exploitation. An investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman revealed that 12 employees were underpaid more than $A82,000. Maurice Blackburn’s Brisbane employment principal Giri Sivaraman has warned that the owner of the store could opt for bankruptcy, depriving the affected workers of their compensation.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Record fine for 7-Eleven exploitation

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 2 : 22-Jun-16

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered a 7-Eleven franchisee to pay $A408,348 in penalties for underpaying staff. The court has found that the Brisbane store’s owner had underpaid 12 employees more than $A82,000 and had falsified the store’s payroll records. Judge Michael Jarrett said the franchisee had displayed "contemptuous disregard" for workplace laws. He was ordered to pay the outstanding wages, although the employees are still owed about $A35,000.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Undue payments under scrutiny

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Original article by Grace Collier
The Weekend Australian – Page: 22 : 11-Jun-16

Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder has criticised the Australian Labor Party for opposing plans to reduce the company tax rate. However, many of Wesfarmers employees are covered by the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association’s enterprise bargaining agreement. The SDA in turn contributes more to Labor’s coffers than any other union. While Labor is widely seen as being "anti-big business", it in fact ultimately receives much of its funding from the large end of town. Furthermore, a lot of this funding is sourced from what the trade union royal commission labelled "corrupting payments".

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Reform FWC for actual fairness

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Original article by Steve Knott
The Australian – Page: 12 : 10-Jun-16

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s abrupt change in stance regarding the Fair Work Commission’s review of weekend penalty rates was not unexpected. FWC president Iain Ross – a former ACTU official – was appointed by Shorten in 2012, when he was the nation’s industrial relations minister. Indeed, 18 of the 27 appointments to the "independent" FWC made by the Australian Labor Party between 2007 and 2013 were affiliated with Labor or were previously in the union movement. Meanwhile, a survey has found that 87 per cent of employers in the resources sector support a review of the FWC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

Shoppies wedge Shorten on penalties

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Original article by Elizabeth Colman, Jared Owens
The Australian – Page: 8 : 3-Jun-16

The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has attracted criticism after its enterprise agreement with Coles was struck down by the Fair Work Commission. Council of Small Business of Australia CEO Peter Strong has accused the union of hypocrisy for using its website to continue campaigning against lower penalty rates. The enterprise agreement excluded penalty rates for some workers. A spokesman for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the FWC should not have approved the agreement in the first place.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT