Worker in WorkChoices advertisement kept in the dark; Andrews favours common law approach to defining independent contractors; Young workers right to believe they have inferior bargaining power, says Greens study; Second wave will lead to exploitation of vulnerable workers, say Sallies; IR advertising blitz yet to win hearts and minds; and US central bank head favours easier dismissal, labour market flexibility.
A WA employer has drawn on the Federal Government's new Cole-based construction industry legislation as part of a successful bid for a nine-month halt to industrial action by maintenance workers at an alumina refinery.
The Queensland IRC has refused to certify an agreement between the AWU and a Catholic nursing home for breaching the no-disadvantage test, after the nurses' union objected to the deal.
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.
