National Basketball League players will be covered by a three-year agreement negotiated by the MEAA after a Full Bench of the AIRC today approved the deal, subject to variations in paternity leave provisions.
AIRC President Justice Geoffrey Giudice has mounted a spirited defence of his institution's record in setting minimum wages and has outlined a set of criteria for assessing the structure of the proposed Fair Pay Commission.
NUW labels NSW police "strike breakers"; 82% of Telstra workers vote to lock in conditions in return for lean wage rise in enterprise agreement; and AWU's Queensland branch backs down on Caltex petrol supply threat.
Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews is now unsure whether the Government will release more details of its second wave IR legislation before it is tabled, while academic lawyer Andrew Stewart says it is "downright puzzling" that the Government hasn't released any more information since May.
The proportion of medium to large employers providing paid maternity leave has almost doubled since 2001, according to an equal opportunity agency survey, while a new report partially attributes Telstra's 100% return to work rate after maternity leave to its flexible working arrangements.
A NSW IRC full bench has cut industry-standard pay rises to a group of former Pacific Power workers employed in a special redeployment and redundancy scheme, limiting their increase to annual safety net adjustments.
The ALP has seized on two ACCC approvals for anti-competitive bargaining, claiming they "strip naked" the Federal Government's extreme ideological approach to the issue.
Unions have described as wrong in law and alarmist the AiG's warning that signing up to enterprise agreements containing unfair dismissal provisions would leave employers more exposed than they currently are under federal law.
