LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Spare us the scare campaigns, says Watt

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: Online : 6-Nov-24

The CFMEU’s ­national secretary Zach Smith says the approvals process for enterprise agreements has become a "farce". He alleges that the Fair Work Commission is taking up to three months to approve new pay deals for workers in the CFMEU’s construction division in the wake of the move to place it in administration. Meanwhile, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has downplayed fears about the impact of the federal government’s multi-employer bargaining laws on the mining sector. He notes that the FWC has authorised just 13 single-interest multi-employer bargaining processes since mid-2023, and none of them have covered mine production workers.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Rebel unions reject Labor’s unity call

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Oct-24

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt will address the ACTU executive on Wednesday. He will highlight the federal government’s achievements in securing "better pay and job security" for Australian workers during its first term in office. With a view to the upcoming election, Watt will also contend that Opposition leader Peter Dutton and the Coalition represent the greatest threat to workers’ pay and conditions since the WorkChoices regime. He will in turn urge the union movement to unite in support of Labor and the ACTU, at a time when some unions that primarily represent blue-collar workers are pushing to establish a rival peak union body.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, ACTU

Bosses demand clause ban on CFMEU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Oct-24

The CEOs of four construction-related employers’ groups have joined forces to urge the federal government to remove certain clauses from enterprise agreements. The clauses in question includes ones that give the CFMEU a right of veto over the use of subcontractors and require subcontractors to be paid the same as those engaged by the head contractor. Amongst other things, the letter to Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt calls on the government to ban the Fair Work Commission from approving any enterprise agreements that include the clauses.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

ACTU takes sledgehammer to economy

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 3-Oct-24

Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black has urged the federal government to reject the ACTU’s push for further changes to industrial relations laws. They include abolishing junior pay rates, extending the minimum standards for gig-economy workers to freelancers and scrapping non-compete clauses. Black says businesses are still contending with the most recent tranche of IR reforms, and any further changes would boost inflation and stall economic growth if they are not linked to productivity.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU

ACTU’s new IR marching orders

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Oct-24

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has revealed the union movement’s priorities if the federal government is re-elected for a second term. Amongst other things, unions will target junior pay rates for people who are 18-20 years of age and work in sectors such as retail, fast-food and pharmacy. The Fair Work Commission will hear the shop assistant union’s application to abolish junior pay rates next year, and McManus says the ACTU will lobby the government to legislate on the issue if the FWC rejects it. She says the loading rate for casual workers also needs to be reviewed, while the minimum standards for gig-economy workers should be extended to freelancers.

CORPORATES
ACTU

‘The Wild West’: sacked CFMEU leaders ‘go rogue’, prepare for mass walkouts

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Aug-24

A meeting of sacked NSW CFMEU delegates on Monday could see them face fines or criminal penalties if they are found to have undermined its administration, with the CFMEU having being forced into administration last week. The meeting called for union members to walk off construction sites and attend rallies on Tuesday, with builder Multiplex expected to be targeted; it has told the Fair Work Commission its agreement with the CFMEU – which is currently waiting to be approved – is a not genuine one because of the union’s alleged coercion. One construction industry source has stated that the CFMEU has "gone rogue", while Master Builders Association CEO Denita Wawn says walkouts to attend the protest were "likely unprotected action".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION

CFMEU courts war on Labor

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Aug-24

The CFMEU’s national secretary Zach Smith says federal government legislation to appoint an administrator to its state construction divisions is "dangerous" and undermines the democratic functioning of unions. He adds that the CFMEU is considering its options but has yet to decide whether to pursue a legal challenge. However, sources have indicated that the union is considering a High Court ­challenge on constitutional grounds. The United Firefighters Union’s Victorian secretary Peter Marshall says all unions should challenge the legislation in the High Court, and warns that other unions could potentially be targeted in the future. The Electrical Trades Union’ state secretary Troy Gray contends that Labor has betrayed the union movement.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor taking sides in IR fight

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Aug-24

The Mining & Energy Union recently filed an application with the Fair Work Commission to increase the wages of BHP’s labour hire workers at three coal mines in Queensland. The legal action may become a test case for the federal government’s ‘same job, same pay’ laws. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanase of intervening in the FWC case. He told the NSW Labor conference in late July that the government will send taxpayer-funded lawyers to "back the workers and the unions" in the MEU’s case. The MCA contends that the government has not intervened in any other major FWC cases under its industrial relations reforms.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Unions unleash part-time IR battle

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jul-24

The Fair Work Commission will commence a review of part-time employment in 2025. FWC president Adam says it will examine daily and weekly minimum hours of work for part-time workers, and the circumstances in which working hours may be altered. Meanwhile, the union movement will seek restrictions on part-time employment. This includes minimum shifts of four hours for such workers; at present some awards provide for minimum shifts of no more than two hours for part-time and casual workers. Unions will also push for a requirement that part-timers receive 28 days’ advance notice of rosters changes, and that any such changes must be made with mutual agreement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Union fury at Nine chief’s torch run amid jobs row

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has criticised Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby for attending the Paris Olympic Games during enterprise agreement negotiations at its publishing division. The union is seeking a pay rise of 20 per cent over three years for employees of the division, and Nine’s staff have voted to take strike action for five days from Friday, which will coincide with the start of the Games. Sources have indicated that Nine’s journalists were also not impressed by footage of Sneesby participating in the Olympic torch relay, given that the division is expected to shed about 90 jobs as part of a broader restructuring program at Nine.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE