LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Consultancy spend alarms union, MPs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Edmund Tadros, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 22-Jan-18

MPs are concerned about the level of money that federal government departments are spending on consultants and contractors. Almost 5,000 consultants are employed across government agencies, and the Community & Public Sector Union estimates that $A380 million could be saved each year by replacing them with permanent public servants. Accenture and the four major accounting firms are estimated to have made more than $A3 billion over a five-year period from federal government contracts.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. JOINT COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE AGENCY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES

Senate rivals clear path for Keneally’s prize

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Clennell, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Jan-18

The Transport Workers’ Union’s national secretary Tony Sheldon and United Voice’s Tara Moriarty have chosen not to seek nomination to replace Labor’s Sam Dastyari in the Senate. Former New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally now seems certain to replace Dastyari. She gained 45.12 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote in the Bennelong by-election in late 2017. Meanwhile, there is speculation that Labor will offer Sheldon a Senate seat at the next federal election, and Moriarty is tipped to contest the next state election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, UNITED VOICE, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Court cases could prevent super union

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Jan-18

Employers’ groups say the Registered Organisations Act should be used to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Act prohibits a merger if either party is the subject of criminal legal proceedings. There are currently more than 40 outstanding cases against the two unions for breaching workplace laws, but the CFMEU and the MUA claim that the Act does not apply as these legal actions are civil rather than criminal. The Australian Mines & Metals Association and Master Builders Australia in turn contend that the legal actions are "quasi-criminal".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

ACTU seeks change to lockout rules

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Jan-18

Australia’s peak union body will push for changes to provisions of the Fair Work Act regarding the right of employers to lock out workers in the wake of an industrial dispute at the Port Kembla coal terminal. ACTU secretary Ged Kearney says the dispute demonstrates that the industrial relations system is "broken" and gives employers too much power. The Port Kembla terminal has imposed a five-day lockout in an ongoing dispute with the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union over enterprise agreement negotiations.

CORPORATES
ACTU, PORT KEMBLA COAL TERMINAL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GLENCORE PLC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Shorten seats for union support deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Staff reporters
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Dec-17

Unions linked to the Australian Labor Party’s Industrial Left faction are understood to have done a deal with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his ­Centre Unity faction. The deal is said to include increased pre-selection of candidates belonging to the IL faction for seats at upcoming elections, in return for the IL agreeing to support Shorten remaining as Labor leader. Unions belonging to the IL faction include the Maritime Union of Australia, the ­Finance Sector Union and the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES UNION

Union leader ordered to halt illegal Port of Melbourne picket

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Dec-17

Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari and union officials will be barred from blockading Victorian International Container Terminal’s site at Webb Dock. VICT CEO Andres Dommestrup has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to grant injunctions against Hilakari, the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. VICT had claimed that Hilakari had been the leader of picketers who have blocked access to the company’s Webb Dock facility for several weeks.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB

Conspiracy claim over docks dispute

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 3 : 12-Dec-17

Victorian International Container Terminal (VICT) has told the Supreme Court that an ongoing blockade of its Webb Dock terminal is doing "immeasurable" harm to its business. VICT has alleged that Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari and other unionists are involved in a conspiracy against the company, and is seeking an ongoing injunction against Hilakari and the Maritime Union of Australia. Justice Michael McDonald said the ongoing blockade is an example of "plainly unlawful conduct".

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Unions to urge ALP to ease anti-strike rules

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Dec-17

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has warned that a landmark High Court ruling will make it more difficult for unions to take protected industrial action. The court ruled that lawful industrial action during enterprise bargaining negotiations is not permissible if previous orders of the Fair Work Commission had been breached during the bargaining process. McManus says Australia’s rules on the right to strike are "complex and onerous", and she argues that reforms are needed to make them consistent with the International Labour Organisation’s standards. The ACTU will lobby the Australian Labor Party to pursue changes to the right-to-strike regime.

CORPORATES
ACTU, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

High Court removes strike protections in landmark ruling

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Dec-17

A landmark ruling of the High Court of Australia has major implications for unions regarding negotiations over enterprise bargaining agreements. The court ruled that unions are not permitted to take protected industrial action while EBA negotiations are underway if the union had previously breached an order of the Fair Work Commission regarding that bargaining. The Australian Workers’ Union had argued that unions are only required to comply with current rather than past orders of the FWC. The ruling could potentially result in the AWU being required to pay significant damages to Esso over strike action at the Longford gas plant in Victoria in 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

Unions block docks with cars, share bikes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Dec-17

Maritime Union of Australia supporters are defying a court order to end a picket of Victorian International Container Terminal at Webb Dock in Melbourne. Trucks are being prevented from accessing the site, with roads being blocked with a range of objects. The blockade has been in place since late November, preventing access to more than 1,000 shipping containers of consumer goods and medical supplies. The dispute arose after the MUA alleged that VICT refused to provide one of its members with shifts at the site. VICT contends that the worker does not have a maritime security identification card.

CORPORATES
MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, VICTORIA POLICE