Supporting the ABCC, improving business productivity and attracting more women into the building industry are among the top priorities for new Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn, who will take over the top job from Wilhelm Harnisch later this month.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered BlueScope Steel to consult with a group of maintenance workers at its Port Kembla steelworks, after finding it failed to comply with the terms of a landmark 2015 enterprise agreement that reduced wages and reformed work practices to keep the plant open.
The CFMEU expects to lodge an appeal early next week against yesterday's FWC decision to terminate the agreement for AGL Loy Yang's power station and coal mine because of the "intractable" bargaining dispute between the parties.
The TWU is considering its options after the FWC refused to grant permanent employees preference to work additional hours ahead of labour hire employees at Sydney's international airport.
The Federal Government has asked the Productivity Commission to conduct the first of a series of five-yearly inquiries into the nation's productivity performance, but the ACTU says the initiative ignores the "real problems" faced by workers.
Qantas will pay $75m in cash bonuses to up to 25,000 employees on the back of a record $1 billion net profit, but some workers covered by the largest aviation unions won't be rewarded until they finalise new enterprise deals that include an 18-month pay freeze.
