The Interim Building Taskforce - set up on the recommendation of Royal Commissioner Terence Cole - has launched its first prosecution, against the CFMEU and one of its organisers.
Queensland IR Minister Gordon Nuttall has confirmed that the Beattie Government won't be proceeding during its current term with plans to make corporations and executives criminally liable for serious workplace injuries and deaths.
ING employees have voted down a s170LK agreement, according to the FSU, while the union is also campaigning against non-union agreements at GIO and AXA.
Goward to release final maternity leave report; Aldi reveals above-award wage rates as it fails to stymie roping-in bid; AIRC refuses to certify multi-employer deal; and no strike at Grocon, says CFMEU.
Reith granted indemnity after the fact, Abbott reveals; US EO agency launches same-sex harassment case; ACCI announces corporate governance policy; Gadens partner starts own practice; Organisations Act begins in May; Hawke review prompts restructure of Queensland public sector IR; NSW Labor Council reaps $2.1m from 2KM sale; Coles signs FairWear code; and teaching union opposes positive discrimination.
The Victorian plumbing union has struck a deal with employer organisation the AMCA for the mechanical services sector that delivers a 12% pay rise over three years plus increased travel pay, but it remains in a stand-off with the industry's biggest employer group, the Master Plumbers Association.
Prime Minister John Howard's own department has boosted the quantum in its s170LK agreement instead of making the first increase retrospective, after the DEWR vetoed plans for backdating.
The contractor at the centre of the 10-week dispute in East Gippsland is still to sign off on a certified agreement, but workers have been back on the site now for four days after it agreed to give up on its AWA offer.
Grocon workers in Victoria have unanimously rejected the company's offer of a non-union deal, while the company has knocked back what the CFMEU (construction division) describes as its "olive branch".
Workers dismissed after failing workplace drug and alcohol tests might have recourse for unfair dismissal because the tests have no legal validity, says workplace health researcher, Kathryn Heiler.
