LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Coalition bid to dry up ‘rivers of gold’

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 12-Sep-17

The Federal Government is seeking to impose restrictions on payments made from employee entitlement funds. Under the Proper Use of Worker Benefits Bill, such funds would need to be registered with the Registered Organisations Commission, and to have one independent director, alongside employer and union-appointed directors. Funds would no longer be able to make payments to unions or employers’ groups, with the Australian Electoral Commission estimating that unions have received an average of $A25 million in payments from employee entitlement funds in the last five years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Heat on unions’ super cash

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Sep-17

The Federal Government will introduce legislation to increase the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s powers to force superannuation funds to disclose their payments to unions. The reforms will also allow fund members to be informed as to how their super contributions are being invested or redirected to unions or employers’ groups. It is estimated that super funds paid more than $A8m to unions in the form of "sponsorship" payments in 2016, with Cbus accounting for more than $A1m of these payments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, PLUMBING TRADES EMPLOYEES UNION, TWUSUPER, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, UNITED VOICE, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Unions ‘skim’ $130m off funds

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Sep-17

Data from the Australian Electoral Commission shows that the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union was paid around $A75m from employer-funded worker entitlement trusts between 2011-12 and 2015-16. In all, 14 unions were paid a total of $A130m from these trusts over a five-year period, with unions receiving more than $A58m in payments from redundancy funds and $A38m from training funds. There is little regulation of worker entitlement funds, which receive compulsory contributions from employers.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN METAL WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC, ENERGY, INFORMATION, POSTAL, PLUMBING AND ALLIED SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS

Boral’s threat to fire workers over building code unlawful

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Sep-17

Most of De Martin & Gasparini’s employees in Sydney rejected proposed changes to their enterprise agreement in June, prompting parent company Boral to threaten all DMG employees with dismissal. The Federal Court has ruled that Boral acted unlawfully in threatening to sack DMG staff unless they endorsed changes to make their enterprise agreement compliant with the new building code. DMG subsequently secured a deal with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union to make its enterprise agreement compliant with the code.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Union deals hit workers’ pay slips

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Sofia Gronbech Wright
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Sep-17

Analysis by the Department of Employment suggests that workers in the retail and fast-food sectors would need to work for up to 50 hours during the week to offset the impact of lower Sunday penalty rates in union-backed enterprise agreements. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the analysis refutes claims by unions and the Australian Labor Party that workers are compensated for lower weekend penalty rates via higher hourly pay rates during the week. However, the Australian Industry Group has questioned the validity of the analysis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, DAVID JONES LIMITED, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Labor ‘hypocrisy’ exposed on penalty rates: Ferguson

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Aug-17

Tourism Accommodation Australia chairman Martin Ferguson has criticised the Australian Labor Party and the ACTU over their stance on penalty rates. He has accused them of "hypocrisy and dishonesty" for continuing to oppose penalty rate cuts in the wake of revelations that the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has struck deals with large companies to trade-off Sunday penalty rates in return for higher base wages. Ferguson is a former president of the ACTU.

CORPORATES
TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Union deals cut Sunday pay rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-17

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association and United Voice have struck enterprise bargaining agreements with major employers that either abolish Sunday penalty rates or feature rates that are lower than the industry award. The EBAs cover some 410.000 employees of companies such as Bunnings, McDonald’s, KFC, David Jones and Big W. The EBAs of several large hotel chains also do not include Sunday penalty rates. However, all of the EBAs that were analysed by the Department of Employment trade off penalty rates in return for higher base hourly wage rates.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, PRICELINE PTY LTD, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP, SHERATON MIRAGE GOLD COAST HOTEL, LANGHAM HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, PARK ROYAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GRILL’D PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, RACV CLUBS AND RESORTS, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Union staff apply to go on strike

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 30-Aug-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union is facing industrial action by clerical and administration employees at the head office of its mining and energy division in Queensland. About 15 members of the Australian Services Union are seeking an annual pay rise of 1.5 per cent as part of enterprise agreement negotiations. The existing agreement expired six months ago, and the staff are seeking approval to undertake protected industrial action. The pay claim has coincided with the CFMEU’s industrial dispute with coal miner Glencore.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Union chief avoids police action over ‘threats’

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 25-Aug-17

The Construction, Forestry Mining & Energy Union has welcomed the Australian Federal Police’s decision not to pursue an investigation against Victorian state secretary John Setka. Federal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash had asked the AFP to investigate alleged threats made by Setka against Australian Building & Construction Commission staff at a rally in June. A spokesperson for Cash has reiterated her concern about the tone of Setka’s comments.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LAING O’ROURKE AUSTRALIA CONSTRUCTION PTY LTD, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, PROBUILD CONSTRUCTIONS (VICTORIA) PTY LTD, THE MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA

Rich pay deal on way to approval

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-17

The Australian Building & Construction Commission’s preliminary assessment of Probuild’s new enterprise agreement has concluded that it complies with the building code. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash and Master Builders Australia have criticised the pay deal, which includes significantly higher penalty rates. Probuild’s in-principle agreement with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union will be submitted for approval by the Fair Work Commission. Cash notes that over 860 enterprise agreements now comply with the building code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, PROBUILD PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD