LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

CFMEU to ignore pledge and campaign in election

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Mar-25

CFMEU administrator Mark Irving KC has previously committed to barring the construction union from making political donations, engaging in party politics or supporting candidates. However, CFMEU national secretary and Victorian branch executive director Zach Smith appears to be ignoring Irving’s pledge, with Smith having promised to campaign against opposition leader Peter Dutton during the upcoming federal election campaign, over Dutton’s pledge to deregister the CFMEU if he is elected. Commenting on Smith’s promise, a spokesman for Irving said he has reaffirmed his commitment that the CFMEU will not engage in party politics while in administration, and that there is "no contradiction between that commitment and the union continuing to educate members on issues that affect them".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Unions blast Rio as they fight for foothold in Pilbara

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Mar-25

Unions are seeking to establish a presence in Western Australia’s Pilbara iron ore region, and are trying to sign up workers at Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo operations. The Western Mine Workers Alliance claims that Rio and other iron ore mining companies operating in the Pilbara are trying to discourage workers from making use of new industrial relations laws that have been introduced by the federal government, and the Alliance has accused Rio of running a scare campaign that includes telling employees that signing enterprise bargaining agreements will make mining unviable. The Alliance claims that on average that union members earn up to 30 per cent more than non-union workers, while a spokesperson for Rio said its existing approach to employee relations in the Pilbara has delivered strong growth in both wages and productivity.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

New probe into CFMEU violence

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Feb-25

Current and former CFMEU officials and employees in Queensland will be foced to co-operate with an inquiry into the ‘culture of violence’ in the state’s construction industry. The CFMEU’s administrator Mark Irving says his inquiry will look into violence, threats of violence and menacing conduct across the state’s construction sector; he has emphasised that employers who have engaged in violence and menacing conduct will also come under scrutiny. Iriving has also warned that action will be taken against employers who victimise CFMEU members or delegates who agree to co-operate with the inquiry.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

ACTU calls for a ban on employee lockouts

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 30-Jan-25

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has urged the federal government to reject the ACTU’s push for legislative changes to ban employers from locking out their workers. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that reforms are needed to prevent employers from ‘abusing their power’. Her comments were made after visiting the Opal paper mill in Victoria, where its entire workforce has now been locked out for 13 days in retaliation for industrial action by a small number of staff. Willox has described the ACTU’s stance as an ‘extreme’ attack on the collective bargaining rights of employers.

CORPORATES
OPAL, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Union demands action over bank branch closures

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 14 : 22-Jan-25

The Finance Sector Union’s national secretary Julia Angrisano has urged federal government intervention to ensure that consumers still have access to bank branches. Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that 2,334 branches have been closed nationwide over the last seven years. The Bank of Queensland recently advised that it will close another 14 branches, in addition to several that were already slated to close. Agrisano says the government has failed respond to a review of banking in regional areas, where many people no longer have access to branch banks.

CORPORATES
FINANCE SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ

Unions build case for same job, same pay

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Original article by Euan Black
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Jan-25

The Mining & Energy Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union are testing the federal government’s ‘same work, same pay’ laws in the Federal Court. They want workers at three BHP mines who are employed either by labour hire firms or BHP units and who are doing the same jobs as people directly employed by BHP to be paid the same amount, with the federal court hearing the difference in pay between those directly employed by BHP and those who are not being but are performing the same role can be as much as $49,000 a year. Should BHP lose the case, its estimates suggest it will have to pay an extra $1.3 billion a year.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Public sector hides bad news for unions

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Dec-24

Recent data from Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that unions have recorded membership growth for the first time since 2011. However, new data reveals that this growth has been solely in the public sector, where union membership has increased by 191,000 over the last two years; in contrast, the number of private sector workers who are union members has fallen by more than 15,600 over this period. The number of public sector union members now exceed those in the private sector for the first time. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has sought to put a positive spin on the figures, but Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says they underline the fact that unions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Unions growing under Labor after decade of decline

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Dec-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation’s unions have recorded membership growth for the first time since 2011. Some 13 per cent of workers are now union members, compared with a record low of 12.5 per cent in 2022. The figures show that more than 1.6 million workers were members of a union in their main job in August, an increase of nearly 200,000 over the last two years. ACTU president Michele O’Neil has attributed the growth in union membership to the collective bargaining provisions of the federal government’s industrial relations reforms.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Woolworths reaches enterprise agreement with striking union workers

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Original article by Duncan Evans, Liam Beatty
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 8-Dec-24

Woolworths has begun restocking its supermarkets’ shelves after securing a new enterprise agreement for employees at four distribution centres. The deal with the United Workers Union and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association has ended a 17-day strike that is estimated to have cost the grocery giant about $50m in lost sales. The SDA has advised that the warehouse workers will receive a pay rise of 12.84 per cent over three years, a $1000 up-front cash payment, a $500 up-front gift card and a $500 gift card for the next two years. Weekend penalty rates for shift workers will also be increased, while Woolworths has agreed to concessions regarding its controversial performance management framework.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, UNITED WORKERS UNION, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Cbus union payments in the spotlight

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 4-Dec-24

Deloitte has made 26 recommendations following its independent review of payments made by construction industry superannuation fund Cbus to the CFMEU. A spokesman for Cbus has indicated that it will accept ‘in principle’ all of the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, and it will work with the accounting firm to develop an action plan to implement each of the recommendations. Amongst other things, Deloitte concluded that Cbus lacked appropriate procedures to ensure that payments to the union were in accordance with its requirement to act in the best financial interest of members.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED