Prohibitions on unfair dismissal protections in agreements under WorkChoices will hinder small employers from competing for valued workers, according to Griffith University Professor of Industrial Relations David Peetz.
Federal Government leadersrepeatedly denied that the new Fair Pay Commission would reduce minimum wages, as the battle for public opinion over the second wave IR changes continued over the weekend.
The Howard Government's second wave IR plan is regressive, destructive and excessively ideological, mimics the worst aspects of the US labour market, and is packaged to mask a new reality where there will be no safety net and an AIRC stripped of its functions, according to former senior Commission member Paul Munro.
No major building contractor or subcontractor will be compliant with the revised implementation guidelines for the national construction code that will take effect in a fortnight, according to Corrs partner Val Gostencnik.
Workchoices is marked by a high level of distrust towards employers, with their choices severely circumscribed, Flinders University Professor of Law Andrew Stewart told a conference this weekend.
Tensions over the CFMEU's forestry and furnishing division's role in supporting the Howard Government's Tasmanian logging policy during the last federal election have spilled over, with the branch boycotting next week's national conference of the union.
The ABCC has clocked up another court victory in its paper chase against reluctant employers, with the Heidelberg Magistrates Court in Melbourne yesterday fining a contractor $500 for refusing a request to produce documents to the former Building Industry Taskforce.
In his first public speech since stepping down from a 13-year reign as the head of the CBA, David Murray has warned employers that they will be at a competitive disadvantage if they fail to use the new tools available under the Howard Government’s second wave of IR change.
The Federal Opposition has accused the Coalition of having 60,000 colour brochures on its second wave IR legislation pulped because market research showed the "spin" wasn't right.