The Opposition, the Catholic Church and Family First have all responded to the Federal Government's release of its WorkChoices document with criticism that the workers with least bargaining power will lose out under the second-wave proposals.
The award system could be significantly eroded under the WorkChoices arrangements announced yesterday by the Howard Government, according to Flinders University Professor of Law, Andrew Stewart.
Prime Minister John Howard and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews yesterday revealed the steps they had taken to respond to concerns raised over their May IR policy announcement. But their WorkChoices booklet also makes it clear that the second-wave laws will go even further in some areas than first thought, including by extending the unfair dismissal exemption to redundancies; limiting what can be included in agreements; further reducing awards' relevance; and outlawing strikes in essential services.
The Federal Government today moved to get onto the front foot in the IR debate, beginning a new round of television advertisements and releasing a 67-page glossy document that responds to some of the concerns raised over its May policy statement.
The national secretary of the CFMEU's forestry division, Trevor Smith, has defended as above-board the $4m training package the Prime Minister committed to on the eve of last year's federal election, and said it was negotiated by industry, not the union.
A self-confessed "touchy-feely guy" has failed to overturn his dismissal for sexually harassing male and female employees he supervised at a Victorian Government juvenile justice facility, but his employer hasn’t got off scot-free, with the AIRC recommending it remedy a pervasive inappropriate culture.
Shadow IR Minister Stephen Smith says the five-year second wave transitional arrangements revealed by the Nationals will force small businesses to choose whether to incorporate for IR reasons, or stay unincorporated for tax reasons.
The AIRC has approved two certified agreements with relatively non-restrictive right of entry clauses, accepting parties' assurances that the isolation of the sites covered created its own restraints.
Parties to the Victorian construction template agreement have completed revisions to bring it into line with the latest changes to the implementation guidelines for the national construction code, while the ABCC has begun a recruitment campaign to move it towards full operational strength.
The Prime Minister welcomed him to Canberra as a fellow Conservative traveller, but today the Federal Government used its Senate majority to defeat a bid by Family First Senator Steve Fielding to establish a Senate inquiry into overtime and penalty rate issues.
