Unions say workers on paid rates awards are more likely to take industrial action to advance their bargaining position following an IRC full ruling yesterday.
Ford and auto unions have reached agreement on the introduction of a nine-day fortnight and salary packaging, as enterprise bargaining negotiations continue.
One in four call centres use AWAs for employees on the call centre floor, while base pay for contact centre (customer service) workers in the industry increased 4.1% in the past year - driven by pressure to attract good workers, according to a new survey.
After a two-year hard-fought battle, the coal-mining "titans" - Rio Tinto and the CFMEU (mining & energy division) - have struck a new enterprise agreement for the Mt Thorley mine in the NSW Hunter Valley that gives the company the big ticket items it has been seeking.
The Democrats have dealt the Government's IR reform agenda another blow, announcing yesterday that they would block moves to extend youth wages to AWAs.
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley's private member's bill amending the Workplace Relations Act fleshes out key parts of Labor's agenda - providing a process for the Commission to reinstate provisions lost through award simplification, requiring good faith bargaining and establishing new objects that give greater priority to employees, unions and the Commission's jurisdiction.
The NSW Labour Hire Task Force, which met for the first time on Monday, has asked for submissions on whether legislation should be drafted to clarify who is the legal employer of labour hire employees or whether a code of conduct would provide sufficient guidance.
The crucial BHP Federal Court trial over the company's decision to move to individual contracts at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara gets underway in Melbourne on Monday morning.
The ALP's IR policy platform - released by Opposition Leader Kim Beazley today - commits it to a substantial re-regulation of IR, with Shadow IR Minister Arch Bevis promising to restore comprehensive awards, deem contractors as employees, return power to the IRC and recognise industry-wide bargaining.
