A stockbroker who was promised a job he never got has won an extra $1.7 million, plus interest, in damages in a Federal Court appeal that extends some criteria for calculating losses for breach of an employment contract.
The AMWU has won the right to pursue a "phoenix" company for employees' entitlements lost when it assumed the same business premises, manager, assets, goodwill and phone number of their former employer when it went into liquidation.
State award-covered workers in WA have this afternoon won a $20 flat increase in their pay, lifting the minimum wage to $504.40 a week ($13.27 an hour), after the WA IRC in its State Wage Case ruling ordered an increase identical to that handed down by the NSW IRC this morning.
Wage increases have tumbled to 3.8% in federal collective agreements certified in the March quarter - the last one that will include large numbers of non-Work Choices deals.
The record $20 flat increase (raising the minimum wage by 4.1%) delivered to all NSW award-covered workers today by the State IRC is sure to put pressure on the Fair Pay Commission to support a substantial rise when it makes its first minimum pay determination in spring.
An attempt by packaging giant Visy to prevent workers at one of its Perth sites from attending unions' national day of protest on Wednesday has failed, after the AIRC found last night there was insufficient evidence that union members intended to take industrial action.
NSW and WA wage case decisions on Monday, with Perth ruling live on the web; Two employer clientele silks appointed to Federal Court; Labor outraged at Andrews staffer appointment as Federal Magistrate; and Work bans start at Victorian Aids Council.
Employers generally can't lawfully refuse to interview a job applicant just because of their criminal record, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has found.
The South Australian Government is preparing legislation to change the employment powers of state government boards or agencies to prevent them being caught by Work Choices, and has also introduced a new procurement policy aimed at maintaining existing terms and conditions.
The Independent Contractors Bill introduced by the Howard Government today seeks to remove contractors from industrial regulation by halting state and territory "interference" in genuine independent contracting arrangements, while introducing new sanctions against "sham" arrangements. However, unions say the changes will open the way for big business to drive down pay for both contractors and employees.
