Employees at Wattyl's paint manufacturing plants around the country were due back at work at first shift today, ending the sit-ins, pickets and strikes that began last week but maintaining bans and limitations.
In a major blow to the Office of the Employment Advocate, the Federal Court has thrown out its attempt to prosecute the CFMEU (construction division) and one of its members for breaching the Workplace Relations Act's freedom of association provisions.
In what could be its first move towards getting up a federal award for labour hire workers in the manufacturing sector, the AMWU has served a log of claims on about 900 companies across the country.
Employers who discriminate against employees or prospective employees because of their drug dependency or addiction could be acting unlawfully, following a Federal Court ruling handed down last week.
The Victorian Government has little hope of meeting its July 1, 2001 target for implementing its Fair Employment Bill following the Opposition's decision to delay the legislation's passage until at least March.
The moderate 3.1% increase in wages in the year to September - revealed in today's ABS Wage Cost Index - suggests the GST and a tightening labour market have given wages growth only a small boost.
The Victorian CFMEU (construction & general division) officials who spearheaded this year's tumultuous shorter-hours campaign are all secure in their jobs for another four years, as are incumbents in other States, following the union's recent branch elections.
In the latest in a series of important transmission of business rulings, the Federal Court has looked behind a labour supply arrangement to determine whether an enterprise agreement should carry over to a contracted-out operator.
In the latest development in the AMWU's campaign to secure entitlements for employees of failed company Steel Tank & Pipe, the union is organising protests outside NAB offices in five capital cities tomorrow to pressure it to put employees ahead of it in a queue of creditors.
