INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – LAW AND LEGISLATION – AUSTRALIA

Flexible labour laws saved jobs, says RBA

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Sep-16

The Reserve Bank of Australia has released a discussion paper which concludes that labour market reforms such as putting a greater emphasis on enterprise bargaining may have reduced the impact of recent downturns in the economy. The paper’s authors suggest that more flexible workplace laws may have encouraged companies to reduce employees’ working hours in response to weaker economic growth – such as during the global financial crisis – instead of retrenching staff.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

HR managers liable for employer’s actions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Jul-16

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James will address a human resources managers’ forum on 27 July 2016. She will warn that failure to comply with federal industrial relations laws has become entrenched in some sectors of the labour market. James will also stress that HR managers could potentially be held personally liable for any breaches of workplace laws that are condoned by their employer.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Labor to reject mandate on IR

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Jul-16

The Australian Government continues to be criticised over its failure to respond to the Productivity Commission’s review of industrial relations laws. The Opposition argues that the Coalition does not have a mandate to pursue workplace reforms during its second term in office as it did not respond to the report prior to the 2016 election. The report, which was released in late 2015, makes 70 recommendations on changes to workplace laws. Business groups have urged the Coalition to pursue IR reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY

Turnbull vows new laws to protect CFA volunteers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Knott, Richard Willingham, Nicole Hasham
The Age – Page: 6 : 24-Jun-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the seat of Corangamite in Victoria on 23 June 2016, where he said that amending the Fair Work Act to protect volunteer firefighters will be a priority for the Coalition if it is re-elected. Turnbull praised the Country Fire Authority, which is the subject of a power grab by the United Firefighters Union. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten reiterated that the CFA dispute is a state issue, and suggested that Turnbull has only intervened due to the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coles-union deal paid below legal safety net

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elizabeth Colman
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Jun-16

The Fair Work Commission has ruled against an enterprise bargaining agreement between grocery giant Coles and the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association. The FWC found that the agreement does not comply with the Fair Work Act’s requirement that employees must be better off overall, as it provides for an hourly rate of pay that is above the award rate but includes lower penalty rates. The FWC had approved the deal in 2015, but a part-time employee challenged the validity of the agreement.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

New ACCI head urges big workplace fix

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 31-May-16

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has called for action on the issue of industrial relations reform. He says ACCI surveys show that over-regulation and the compliance burden are key concerns for its members, and he has called for both sides of politics to put workplace reform on their policy agenda. Pearson also notes that debate on workplace reform is constantly stifled by unions’ claims that it will result in a return to WorkChoices-style workplace laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), ACTU, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Court fines CFMEU over airport blockade

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-May-16

Six senior officials of the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union have received fines ranging from $A1,000 to $A2,750 in the Federal Court of Australia. The union itself has been fined $A12,500 for breaching industrial laws by blockading a project to upgrade Perth Airport in 2013. Fair Work Building & Construction director Nigel Hadgkiss notes that the CFMEU and its officials have now been fined three times in May 2016 for breaches of the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, PERTH AIRPORT

Watchdog to target more CFMEU officials

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-May-16

The Federal Court’s Justice Debra Mortimer has ruled that the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union cannot use its own funds to pay an $A18,000 fine on behalf of union official Joe Myles. Fair Work Building & Construction director Nigel Hadgkiss has welcomed the court ruling, and signalled that his agency will continue to pursue similar judgments against the militant union.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Fairfax journalists face investigation over strike

roymorgansocial 1 Comment

Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 24 : 5-May-16

The Fair Work Ombudsman has ordered Fairfax Media to provide it with the personal details of about 600 journalists who staged unprotected industrial action in mid-March 2016. The strike was prompted by Fairfax’s latest proposed round of redundancies. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance is also subject to the compulsory order, and could a fine of up to $A54,000. Journalists could each be liable for fines of up to $A10,800 for unlawful industrial action.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Unions to push for penalty rates law

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 26-Apr-16

Unions have criticised Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for indicating that he will support the Fair Commission’s decision if it rules in favour of reducing Sunday penalty rates. They argue that his comments undermines the union movement’s "Save Our Weekend" campaign, and the Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari says unions will seek to have minimum penalty rates included in the National Employment Standards if the Opposition wins the 2016 federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION