Fruit processor SPC has today hit back at union criticism of its plan for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of employees, citing the general legal obligation of employers to provide a safe workplace.
A Federal Court judge has set a limit on the construction watchdog's use of anti-picketing laws to bring unions to heel, observing that "while picketing involves obstruction, not every obstruction is a picket".
The FWC has redrawn an employer's "line in the sand" over the use of mobile phones while driving forklifts, ordering it to reinstate and compensate a worker after concluding he was harshly sacked for a first safety policy breach.
A Coalition-dominated Senate inquiry has backed the FWC's request to delay implementing proposed extensions to its anti-sexual-harassment jurisdiction, but declined to support Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins' call to include her "positive duty" recommendation in the Morrison Government's Respect at Work legislation.
The AMWU has objected to what fruit and vegetable processor SPC today described as the country's first mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for its workforce, leaving the door open to possible legal action.
Employers once said to be facing up to $38 billion in casuals' backpay claims have welcomed today's High Court confirmation that contracts are decisive in determining employment types, while workers' representatives have come out swinging.
The UK Labour party has promised to replace the country's three existing employment classifications with a single category of "worker" for all but the "genuinely self-employed" if it takes power at the 2024 election.
The Morrison Government will establish an independent complaints mechanism to handle sexual harassment, assaults and bullying in Federal parliamentary workplaces, while it is also considering "naming and shaming" MPs and senators who fail to undertake anti-harassment training.
A scaffolding company and its director that sacked a worker for refusing to perform unsafe work, before offering to reinstate him on a probationary period with a warning, must pay more than $25,000 in compensation and penalties for unlawful adverse action.
The ABCC will ask a court to prohibit union officials from "crowdfunding" personal penalties in what represents a significant escalation of its on-going bid to combat contravening union conduct in the construction industry.