LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Lambie piles pressure on Setka to quit CFMEU

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-19

The federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill is slated to be put before the Senate later in 2019. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has indicated that she may be prepared to vote for the bill if John Setka does not step down as the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. Lambie has raised her concerns about Setka with ACTU president Michele O’Neil. The government has amended the bill in response to concerns raised by Labor, but Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick believes that further changes are needed.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY

CFMEU slapped with $65m in penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jul-19

The federal government has released data showing that the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime & ­Energy Union has incurred about $65m worth of legal costs and court fines for breaching workplace laws since 2004. This includes court penalties totalling $28.6m in Victoria, with the bulk of these penalties having been incurred in cases involving controversial state secretary John Setka. The government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill will be put before the lower house on 24 July, and is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and other registered organisations.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

ABCC pursues workers on strike over union flags

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Jul-19

The Australian Building & Construction Commission is prosecuting 66 members of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union for engaging in unlawful industrial action. It is alleged that they failed to return to work after a meeting with CFMMEU delegates at a construction site in Brisbane. Amongst other things, the meeting is said to have discussed the issue of union flags being removed from union sites. The CFMMEU and its officials are not subject to the legal action. The workers each face a fine of up to $42,000.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, ACTU

Minimum wage world’s highest

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Weekend Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Jul-19

Australia’s minimum wage was increased by 3.5 per cent in 2018, with the increase giving Australia the highest minimum wage in the world when adjusted for inflation and purchasing power. This is according to recent OECD figures, which do not take into account the latest three per cent increase in the minimum wage. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the OECD figures rebut union claims that the minimum wage system needs to be overhauled, although an ACTU spokesperson contends that it is a "basic principle of fairness" that no one who works full-time should be living in poverty.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Setka in court bid to block ALP’s axe

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 5 : 5-Jul-19

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official John Setka is seeking an injunction against Labor’s national executive, which wants to expel him from the party. Labor leader Anthony Albanese claims that Setka’s conduct in recent years has been unacceptable, and he must be expelled to prevent further damage to the party’s reputation. Setka in turn alleges that being expelled from Labor would damage his own reputation and could result in the loss of his position as Victorian secretary of the CFMMEU.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

MUA’s challenge to enterprise agreement with VICT thrown out

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 3-Jul-19

A spokesman for Victorian International Container Terminal says the company is likely to seek costs against the Maritime Union of Australia after a court dismissed a challenge to its enterprise agreement. The legal challenge was mounted by dock worker Richard Lunt, but the Federal Court’s Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled that he was a ‘front man’ for the MUA, and that the case was an abuse of process. VICT’s Webb Dock terminal in Melbourne was unlawfully picketed by the MUA in late 2017.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

CFMEU battles developer of Adelaide tower

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Jul-19

The militant Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union alleges that property developer Kyren Group prevented union organisers from entering a building site to investigate workplace safety issues. The CFMMEU claims that the company’s actions constituted ‘unlawful picket action’ under laws introduced by the Coalition in 2016. The union’s statement of claim in the Federal Court also alleges that the site manager’s behaviour made the organisers feel ‘intimidated and threatened’.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, KYREN GROUP, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ACTU goes after Qantas over bonus

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-Jun-19

The ACTU will lodge legal action against Qantas in the Fair Work Commission on 24 June over its payment of employee bonuses. The ACTU will allege that the airline is discriminating against employees on collective agreements, in that it will only pay a $2,000 bonus once employees sign on to Qantas-endorsed enterprise agreements; the ACTU notes that some collective agreements do not expire until late 2020. Former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford noted at its 2018 AGM that the same conditions applied to its last three bonuses.

CORPORATES
ACTU, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Albanese’s letter details the Setka sins hurting Labor

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Jun-19

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese wants its national executive to expel CFMMEU Victorian secretary John Setka from the party when it meets on 5 July. Albanese has written to Labor’s national secretary Noah Carroll outlining the reasons why he thinks Setka should be expelled. Albanese says that Setka’s conduct in recent years has caused harm to Labor, as has the negative media coverage of his actions. Albanese says that Labor has "critical work" to do on behalf of Australians, and that it cannot be distracted from its goals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

National bosses side with Setka, snub ACTU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Jun-19

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has backed embattled Victorian state secretary John Setka. The union has released a joint statement by its construction division’s national secretary Dave Noonan and president Jade Ingham, in which they state that Setka has the full support of the CFMMEU’s construction and general division. They also stated that Setka had not denigrated anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty during a meeting of the union’s national executive. The ACTU maintains that Setka must resign.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY