LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Union boss ousted over $98,000 in super board fees

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 22-Nov-17

Richard Duffy, the secretary of the Australian Services Union’s Victorian division, has been dismissed by its committee of management. This followed an external investigation that found he had retained $A98,000 in fees paid to him for sitting on the board of Vision Super since 2014 without appropriate authorisation. The investigation also found he had engaged Advanced People Property Management Solutions to undertake maintenance work at the ASU’s offices, for which it was paid $A48,000, without disclosing to the ASU that it was owned by a relative of former ASU secretary Brian Parkinson.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, VISION SUPER PTY LTD, ADVANCED PEOPLE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Jackson faces 166 charges of graft

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 21-Nov-17

Former Health Services Union national secretary Kathy Jackson is to stand trial over claims she defrauded and stole just under $A500,000 in union funds from the HSU. Jackson is facing a total of 166 charges, relating to the years between 2003 and 2011. She could face a maximum jail term of 10 years if found guilty. A date for her trial is yet to be set, with it being possible that she might not go to trial until early 2019.

CORPORATES
HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Superannuation funds should not be secret societies

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 23 : 20-Nov-17

All Australians would hopefully agree with the notion that money within a superannuation fund belongs to its members, not to a union or an employer. They would also agree that fund trustees are responsible to their members and not to unions or employer groups, and that any payments made by funds to unions or employer groups be disclosed, along with the reasons for the payments. Legislation to enforce these notions is currently before federal parliament, and it is concerning to hear that unions and employer groups are protesting against its passage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Coalition rejects ACTU push to delay IR agenda

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-17

ACTU president Ged Kearney says the Federal Government does not have a mandate for industrial relations reform while doubts remain about the eligibility of some MPs to be in parliament. Five bills relating to unions are currently before the Senate, but Kearney argues that they should be shelved until the dual citizenship crisis is resolved. Unions have raised the prospect of a legal challenge if any of the bills are passed.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Abuse ruling faces challenge from South32

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Nov-17

South32 will appeal against the Fair Work Commission’s ruling that the sacking of a Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union official constituted unfair dismissal. South32 was ordered to reinstate Matthew Gosek after the FWC found that the offensive language which prompted Gosek’s dismissal is widely used in society. However, Macquarie Group director Patricia Cross has described the ruling as "shameful". The issue of offensive language in the workplace has also come under scrutiny in the case against Westpac over the alleged manipulation of the bank bill swap rate.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, DIVERSITY COUNCIL AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Swearing ruling lowers bar on behaviour

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Nov-17

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union official Brad Upton is not a "fit and proper" person to hold a workplace right-of-entry permit. The ruling concerns his use of offensive language while addressing workers at the Gorgon LNG project. Meanwhile, the FWC has issued a separate ruling in which South32 was ordered to reinstate a CFMEU official for using similar language and making physical threats against eight workers.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, K&L GATES LLP, CLAYTON UTZ, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Coalmine is not a convent when talking abuse

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

The Fair Work Commission has upheld an unfair dismissal claim against mining company South32. The company had dismissed Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union delegate Matthew Gosek as a result of his use of abusive language and physical threats against eight co-workers. In upholding Gosek’s challenge against his dismissal, FWC Commissioner Bernie Riordan noted Gosek had been affected by a combination of alcohol and anti-depressants at the time, and that bad language was commonplace in the workplace. Industrial relations lawyer Stuart Wood says the FWC’s decision could be seen as condoning union bullying.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION,SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32,ILLAWARRA COAL PTY LTD,GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Four super funds paid millions to CFMEU

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Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Nov-17

Four industry superannuation funds made total payments of over $A12 million to the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union between 2007 and 2016, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. The union-backed funds, which include Cbus and FirstSuper, state the payments covered sponsorship arrangements and fees for union officials for sitting on their boards, but Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer is concerned that the AEC figures do not reflect the full scope of fund payments to unions.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FIRST SUPER PTY LTD, BUSS (QUEENSLAND) PTY LTD, MINE WEALTH AND WELLBEING

Minister rebuffs ACTU pay push

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Nov-17

The ACTU is seeking to have the minimum wage increased to 60 per cent of the median wage. This would equate to an $A80-per-week rise in the minimum wage, which ACTU secretary Sally McManus says should be phased in as quickly as possible. However, employers’ groups warn that a sharp rise in the minimum wage would deter businesses from taking on more staff, while Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has ruled out any changes to the existing minimum wage regime.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

CFMEU agrees to 35pc cut to Griffin Coal pay

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

Workers at Griffin Coal’s Collie mine in Western Australia face reduced working hours and pay rates under a proposed enterprise agreement. The new pay deal, which would cut hourly pay rates by 25 per cent and annual earnings by 35 per cent, has the support of the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. State secretary Gary Wood says both unions and Griffin have accepted compromises to secure the pay deal, amid uncertainty regarding future bank financing for the mine.

CORPORATES
THE GRIFFIN COAL MINING COMPANY PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LANCO RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, ICIC BANK