LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Underpaid, overworked, fearing sack

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Age – Page: 8 : 2-Mar-18

Fifty-nine per cent of workers who took part in an ACTU survey stated that they are worried that they will lose their current job in the next couple of years. Over 70 per cent expressed the view that they felt as if they are working harder for less pay, while 80 per cent stated that getting a reasonable pay rise was difficult. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, says the crux of the survey results is that workers want reasonable wage rises and more job security. The ACTU intends to use the results of the survey to back its case for an increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Contempt case threatens super union

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Feb-18

Victorian International Container Terminals’ contempt of court lawsuit against the Maritime Union of Australia could prevent its proposed merger with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The Fair Work Commission, which is shortly slated to issue a ruling on the merger, has received a submission which argues that contempt charge constitutes criminal proceedings under the Fair Work Act. The Registered Organisations Act in turn states that a union merger cannot by approved if there is outstanding criminal proceedings. The unions contend that the contempt charge is civil rather than criminal.

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

Contempt case threatens super union

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Feb-18

Victorian International Container Terminals’ contempt of court lawsuit against the Maritime Union of Australia could prevent its proposed merger with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The Fair Work Commission, which is shortly slated to issue a ruling on the merger, has received a submission which argues that contempt charge constitutes criminal proceedings under the Fair Work Act. The Registered Organisations Act in turn states that a union merger cannot by approved if there is outstanding criminal proceedings. The unions contend that the contempt charge is civil rather than criminal.

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

Andrews delivers for his union movement mates

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 29 : 27-Feb-18

Victorian Government legislation could give unions unprecedented power to decide the future of many businesses. The Victorian Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 will require all labour hire firms in the state to renew their registration every three years. However, a range of interested parties will be able to oppose re-registration – including unions and rival labour hire firms. The legislation would enable a union to demand that a firm agrees to become fully unionised in return for supporting the renewal of their registration; unions could potentially target each firm in turn until they are all unionised. Significantly, the bill – which has been passed by the lower house – also covers large consulting firms.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, HAYS PERSONNEL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ADECCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED, MANPOWER AUSTRALIA, PAXUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Judge slams union’s deplorable record

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Feb-18

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has been fined $A95,000 over a "closed shop" policy at a Melbourne construction site. CFMEU delegate Godwin Farrugia has in turn been fined $A10,000 after advising workers that they could not access the site unless their union dues had been paid. The Federal Court’s Justice Richard Tracey ruled that the CFMEU’s frequent breaches of workplace laws meant that a significant financial penalty was justified.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, QUEST APARTMENTS PTY LTD, ARTEAM, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Shorten’s IR promise to militant CFMEU

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Feb-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor visited Glencore’s Oaky North coal mine in October 2017. Shorten told Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union members who were engaged in a long-running strike at the site that Labor will overhaul workplace laws if it wins the next federal election. Employment Minister Craig Laundy says Shorten’s speech demonstrates that Labor intends to pursue industrial relations reforms that would give unions greater power in the workplace.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU

Shock AWU claims: detective breaks silence on fraud scandal

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Feb-18

Former Western Australian major fraud squad detective David ­McAlpine headed a two-year investigation into an Australian Workers’ Union slush fund in the late 1990s. He says the WA Director of Public Prosecutions ordered him to cease the investigation shortly before he was slated to travel to Melbourne and executive a series of search warrants concerning the use of money from the slush fund. He also says former executives of Thiess may have misled the trade union royal commission regarding payments that the construction firm made to AWU officials for the slush fund.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION – WORKPLACE REFORM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, THIESS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE SERVICE, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, MELBOURNE WATER CORPORATION

Union readies for new tug of war with BHP

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 20-Feb-18

Iron ore shipments from Port Hedland could potentially be disrupted due to the Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers’ proposed legal action against BHP Billiton. Rivtow, which provides tugboat services to BHP at Port Hedland, operates on a partnership model. However, the company is believed to have begun employing marine engineers on some of its tugboats, which the AIMPE claims would give it access under workplace right of entry laws.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE AND POWER ENGINEERS, RIVTOW MARINE PTY LTD, RIVERSIDE MARINE PTY LTD, TEEKAY MARINE PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, KOTUG, LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Union fined $1m over Boral boycott

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 15-Feb-18

The Federal Court has ordered the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union to pay fines totalling $A1m for breaching the secondary boycott provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act. The union had banned Victorian building sites from using concrete supplied by Boral in the wake of a 2012 industrial dispute between the CFMEU and Grocon. Justice John Middleton found that the union engaged in a secondary boycott at two building sites, although the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission had contended that 12 sites had been affected.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ALSAFE PREMIX CONCRETE PTY LTD, GROCON PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Laundy’s bid to toughen IR rules

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Feb-18

Workplace Relations Minister Craig Laundy has signalled that the Federal Government may consider amendments to the Fair Work Act aimed at providing greater protection to workers in the enterprise bargaining process. Laundy says there may be a case for strengthening existing provisions of the Act that require workers to be fully informed of the pay and conditions in an enterprise agreement before they vote for it. He has also warned of the potential for huge job losses if a future Labor government were to implements the ACTU’s proposals regarding the minimum wage and workplace laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC