The AWU claims to have arrested its membership losses, with a new back-office system recording a "modest" increase in numbers, but the ROC is growing impatient, accusing the union of lacking urgency and transparency in rectifying its reporting after it first raised issues about inaccurate data more than two-and-a-half years ago.
James Cook University is fighting back against a Federal Circuit Court finding that it unlawfully sacked an academic who criticised prominent climate research, while the NTEU has welcomed a finding that the institution's code of conduct is "subordinate" to an intellectual freedom clause in its agreement.
A full Federal Court has upheld a finding that agreement-sanctioned union stopwork meetings can be freely used to delay and disrupt business as part of a campaign strategy, but has increased fines for the CFMMEU's coercion of head contractor Hutchison by almost 30%.
A dispute between Macquarie Bank and 15 former employees who allege they were underpaid more than $2.6 million looks destined for a full hearing after the Federal Circuit Court rebuffed the parties' request for mediation by a judge.
The Federal Court will this afternoon hear an RTBU bid for an interim injunction to reinstate a delegate it says has been unlawfully sacked by the private operator of Sydney's newest rail line because he helped it to prepare for a majority support determination application.
A Tasmanian wood mill operator that stood down its workforce after this year's bushfires has established that even though its agreement requires workers to be paid for time lost due to such natural events, it does not have to pay them if it is because of bushfire-damaged machinery.
An experienced Qantas flight attendant who surreptitiously downed a quarter of a bottle of vodka on an 11-hour flight has failed to overturn her dismissal, with the FWC agreeing with the airline that she breached critical safety standards before trying to lie her way out of trouble.
Employers should pay close attention to their "extended workforce" before being forced to do so by increased regulation and public scrutiny, according to former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James.
A large pharmaceutical company is obliged to convert labour hire workers to permanent positions after a year's continuous employment, the FWC ruling that the relevant agreement clause was a permitted matter because it promoted job security.
A CFMMEU official has retained his entry permit despite being heavily fined for his part in a heated worksite stoush, the FWC finding he was acting on "genuine but mistaken" legal advice about his rights.
