Parties wanting to challenge agreements approved by the Workplace Authority under the new fairness test would have to go to the High Court, according to legal advice to the ACTU from Maurice Blackburn Cashman.
Women employees are paid less than men under Work Choices AWAs, according to consultations of 60 women's organisations by the National Foundation for Australian Women.
Greens Senator Bob Brown says that if Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd wins power later this year, he could call a double dissolution within 18 months if the Coalition maintains the Senate numbers to block the reversal of Work Choices.
The ACTU says up to a million low-income workers face real pay cuts, after a Federal Government submission urged the Fair Pay Commission to take into account the Budget's tax cuts and increases in benefits.
The Greens, which may control the next Senate, are welcoming union donations to its election campaign against ALP "wavering" on IR reform, after Labor's decision to preserve the ABCC triggered a rare split with the ACTU.
An ABS survey released today shows that 23% of Queensland wage and salary earners are union members, well above the 20.7% membership indicated in another Bureau survey released early this year.
A new ABS survey shows that one in five workers is performing unpaid hours, that a greater proportion of women than men are working without pay, and that almost two-thirds of those who regularly work unpaid hours are not compensated via time in lieu or allowances.
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd could face months of further embarrassment over his wife's company's award compliance, after the Office of Workplace Services yesterday detailed a two-stage investigation process.
ETU Victorian branch secretary Dean Mighell was pressured to resign from the ALP today after his secretly-recorded comments joking about a pattern bargaining "stunt" led to Government claims of a return to union thuggery under a Labor government.
Labor would invite AIRC President Geoffrey Giudice to head its planned Fair Work Australia if it wins this year's federal election, Shadow IR Minister Julia Gillard said today.
