A full bench of the NSW IRC, led by the President, Justice Lance Wright, today began hearing evidence from a dozen childcare workers at the start of an LHMU pay equity case seeking wage rises ranging from $177 to $540 per week.
As the Howard Government moves toward drafting its independent contractor legislation, a new inquiry report by a Government-dominated Lower House committee has recommended contractors be regulated as commercial entities outside the traditional IR system, while the labour hire sector should be subject to a voluntary industry code of practice.
New ABS data released today appears to confirm that labour shortages are driving up wages, with trend rates of pay excluding bonuses increasing by 1.1% in the June quarter and 4% in the year to June - a new annual record.
An insurance brokerage has been ordered to pay more than $10,000 to a former employee it discriminated against by demoting then sacking him due to the disabilities of Attention Deficit Disorder and depression.
Pacific National unions have brought the company's operations almost to a standstill, after starting a 24-hour strike this morning over stalled bargaining negotiations.
The impact of trade practices law in employment matters continues to expand, with the WA Supreme Court finding three executives of an AFL club were accessories to a breach of the Trade Practices Act when they misled an assistant coach in negotiations for his job.
An employer has been ordered to pay $1,000 damages to a former colleague over a "bear hug", after the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal found it constituted sexual harassment under the State's Anti-Discrimination Act.
Family First Senator Steve Fielding has used his first speech to Parliament to throw down the gauntlet to the Howard Government on IR, saying it is time for the Government to start delivering family-friendly rather than market-friendly workplace policies.
A former NSW TAFE teacher who has Hepatitis C has won $19,575 compensation after the State Administrative Decisions Tribunal found he was discriminated against when he was denied relocation opportunities when accepting a redundancy payout.
In what is likely to be an historic last test case decision on awards, an AIRC full bench has today mostly refused an ACTU claim for extra rights to help workers accommodate their family responsibilities.
