Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has criticised stevedore DP World for "relying on ministerial intervention" to resolve its bargaining dispute with the MUA, saying he told the company today he has no intention to take such a step.
The MUA and its leaders have averted the threat of liability for alleged secondary boycotts against transport and logistics company Qube, after the union provided an undertaking this afternoon that it would withdraw that part of its planned protected action against stevedore DP World.
DP World is calling on the MUA to call off further protected action at the company's container terminals from Sunday to enable further bargaining negotiations, warning it is actively looking into "alternatives" to maintain services.
The High Court has today unanimously held that Qantas took unlawful adverse action against nearly 2000 former ground crew when it outsourced their jobs at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when their agreements were due to nominally expire.
Woodside has narrowly averted impending industrial action at its North West Shelf gas platforms after reaching an in-principle deal endorsed by Offshore Alliance and ETU members this morning, while protected action ballots at Chevron are set to close today.
BHP has played down the impact of industrial action at its Queensland coal mines, highlighting that the protected action won support from only about 15% of Operations Services production employees in Queensland.
CFMMEU mining and energy division members have this week kicked off protected action in BHP's Queensland coal mines, sparking early sparring over the company's proposed ban on allowing workers back into their accommodation camp while on strike.
The FWC has refused to suspend engineers' industrial action at a Virgin Australia subsidiary while their employer pursues an intractable bargaining declaration, in an early test of the new Secure Jobs provision.
Law firm Ashurst says the looming multi-employer bargaining laws might explain the results of a survey in which 65% of employers say they intend to initiate agreement negotiations in the next six months.
A FWC full bench will tomorrow consider whether to terminate or suspend tugboat operator Svitzer's planned indefinite national lockout on Friday, after the company told Vice President Adam Hatcher it is not prepared to delay it and does not believe conciliation will help.