It's the labour movement equivalent of the corporate skunkworks: a new union within the Australian Workers Union that doesn't look anything like its distinctly un-hip parent.
AMMA has asked an FWC presidential member to correct the public record, claiming he was wrong in upbraiding the employer body for its "apparent failure" to inform the Commission about changes to its client's ownership during a good faith bargaining case.
CFMEU construction and general division Victorian branch secretary John Setka has threatened to withdraw support for the Andrews Labor State Government in protest at ministers "promoting and supporting" major construction company Grocon.
An FWC panel has asked whether medium term minimum wage "guidance targets" could provide the predictability of firmer targets but has acknowledged that unions might be concerned the latter will "bump up" against the legislation.
Business groups have to cooperate and overhaul their campaign tactics to match groups like GetUp and trade unions, according to Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott.
Australia's second-biggest union, the SDA, has dropped its long-held policy of opposing same-sex marriage, as national secretary Gerard Dwyer looks to concentrate on core workplace issues.
Coles has alleged the NUW is engaged in unlawful pickets at "contingency sites" established to distribute food to its Victorian stores after the start of indefinite strike at a key distribution centre.
The CFMEU has lost an appeal to have secondary boycott proceedings over alleged bans on Boral delayed until after the hearing of blackmail charges against union leaders John Setka and Shaun Reardon.
The union movement's targeted marginal seats campaign played an "absolutely critical" role in generating a dramatic swing to the Labor Party in Saturday's federal election, according to renowned political analyst Malcolm Mackerras.
