Unions NSW files High Court challenge to Work Choices; Submissions close Friday for inquiry into jobs in car parts manufacturing; FSU tries to revive works councils debate; Victorian Government starts registering labour hire companies; and Make child care tax-exempt, says Deloitte.
It's Groundhog Day for state IR ministers, with federal Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews again notifying them that he won't be attending the next scheduled Workplace Relations Ministerial Council meeting.
ACCI favours a move towards industry-based awards and ultimately wants a single national award to cover all industries, but it doesn't support the Award Review Taskforce proposal to base industry sectors on top level ANZSIC classifications.
Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward has expressed concern that the Howard Government's award rationalisation process could threaten paid maternity leave and pay equity.
Work Choices constitutional challenge before High Court on Wednesday, AWU Queensland branch to join; Queensland IRC reserves decision on Howard Government's bid to delay State Wage Case; Victorian union officials line up for federal ALP pre-selections; and Victorian Police demand $100-a-day compensation for Commonwealth Games.
Australia's largest private sector employer, ColesMyer Ltd, supports moving to a system of industry-based awards, but only if they don't contain work practices now discarded by the large retailers. If ColesMyer can't be assured of that, it wants an enterprise award that would cover more than 150,000 employees.
Master Builders Australia, in its submission to the award review taskforce, is urging a "big bang" approach to award rationalisation, saying that as awards decline in relevance there will be less enthusiasm for the rationalisation process.
A clinical psychologist suffering from bipolar disorder and a cataract-related eye condition has lost her disability discrimination claim following her dismissal by a NSW health authority.
