INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Strike threat to Qld $70b LNG debut

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 4-Aug-14

Three separate LNG exporting plant projects worth a combined $A70bn are being pursued in the Gladstone region of Queensland by consortia led respectively by Santos, Origin Energy and BG Group. The latter has made the most progress, but is now also likely to be the most affected by potential strikes as the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has applied for protected industrial action. Workers may down tools from 7 August 2014 over talks on a new enterprise bargaining agreement. They seek a "four weeks on, one week off" roster instead of the current "three weeks on, one week off’

CORPORATES
BG GROUP PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, BECHTEL PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Ombudsman blasts award complexity

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Original article by Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-14

Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman, Natalie James, believes that the industrial awards system remains too complex and employers find it difficult to understand. Many of the enquiries fielded by James’s office concern wage rates under the modern awards system. James says the Fair Work Commission’s review of industrial awards should ensure that in future all awards are consistent with the national employment standards

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN|AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION|AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Abbott changes ‘a crime, absurd’

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Original article by Peter Martin
The Age – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-14

US-based economist and Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz is visiting Australia. He has criticised some of the measures contained in the Federal Government’s May 2014 Budget, such as full deregulation of university course fees and co-payments for visits to general practitioners. Stiglitz also says the industrial relations system in Australia is superior to that in the US, as strong unions are a necessity in ensuring wages are high enough to boost the overall economy

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, NOBEL FOUNDATION