A major fruit and vegetable grower defending one of the biggest workplace s-xual harassment and assault cases in Australia says it took "immediate steps" to remove the accused workers and it no longer employs them.
The Albanese Government plans to introduce a bill at the end of the week to remove the threat of criminal penalties from its Closing Loopholes right to disconnect provisions that are slated to pass Parliament today, but the Coalition has pledged to repeal the measures if it wins the next election.
The Federal Court has flayed the Republic of Italy for failing to heed Australian IR laws in its local consulates and has ordered it to pay a $94,000 fine, $7500 compensation and indemnity costs to an administrative employee after it failed to pay him annual leave loading for six years, to keep records in English and to produce the records on demand.
Labour academics analysing the Closing Loopholes No 2 Bill ahead of its expected passage into law say the right to disconnect signals a "momentous societal shift" in the value placed on work, wellbeing and private time, while gig work reforms are "world leading" but they question the narrowing of casuals' pathway to permanency.
The Albanese Government has won the passage of reforms to criminalise exploitation of workers because of their migration status, along with tougher penalties and powers to ban offending employers from hiring temporary visa holders, responding to Migrant Workers Taskforce recommendations.
A Clive Palmer-owned business must pay a worker almost $40,000 for dismissing him by email along with 125 other employees, claiming he failed to work his hours amid site-wide fraud, theft and dishonesty,, and then asking him to re-apply for his job 20 minutes later.
The Senate this afternoon passed the Closing Loopholes No 2 legislation after accepting amendments advanced by the Albanese Government, the Greens and crossbench senators David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe.