Most negotiations between employers and employees on working from home arrangements will remain outside the formal IR system, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission.
In a development sure to be watched closely by employers, WorkSafe Victoria is inquiring into the COVID-19 death of a 46-year-old call centre employee identified as a close contact at his workplace's Tier 1 exposure site.
Qantas, in its challenge to a crucial recent Federal Court adverse action ruling, says its sole motivation for outsourcing the jobs of about 1700 ground crew was its lawful commercial reason of saving $100 million a year during a global pandemic.
The CEPU's communications division is seeking legal advice as to whether Telstra's plan to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for more than 8000 public-facing employees is lawful, while it has warned against sacking any workers who have medical exemptions.
Hospitality industry employers have won approval to roll up overtime, penalty and split-shift rates for full-time higher-paid workers after a FWC full bench rejected union concerns that changing the award for a small cohort could leave a broader group of employees worse off.
In a first for the local resource sector, BHP Billiton will this week begin trialling on-site vaccinations at its Mt Arthur coal mine in NSW ahead of deciding whether to make the jabs mandatory for its Australian employees.
Virgin's announcement that it is considering following Qantas in mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees has drawn a mixed response from unions, but the TWU says its commitment to consultation signals an improved approach.
Unions and employers are embracing the use of rapid antigen testing as it ramps up in some industries, but questions remain around cost, access, administration and how it should fit with other measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at work.
Stevedore Qube has accused the MUA of "undertaking surveillance" of non-union employees it photographed working without masks onboard a ship in Fremantle last weekend.
The Federal Court has today declared that its ruling last month in favour of a TWU adverse action claim against Qantas over the outsourcing of ground handling at 10 ports applies to all employees, not just union members.