Just a week after the Federal Government launched its full-page newspaper advertisements, the Prime Minister, John Howard, has taken the next step in the battle to win public support for his IR proposals - establishing a new taskforce of Coalition members to help sell his message.
The Federal Government has emphatically rejected Opposition claims that award conditions more generous than the proposed federal statutory minimum entitlements will be cut under its second wave changes.
The AiGroup is seeking to limit the scope of the common rule declaration in Victoria of a key IT industry award, in a case which may establish new principles for the application of common rule awards in the State.
The Federal Government has made a mess of IR in its own backyard - an "unhappy experience" that should temper expectations about its second-wave plans for the general community, a conference was told yesterday.
Hot on the heels of WR Minister Kevin Andrews' announcement yesterday of extensions to the government's construction industry Code, DEWR has written to the MBA advising that the CFMEU's proposed pattern agreement in NSW breaches the Code.
The Federal Government faces difficulty aligning its "flexibility and freedom" rhetoric on its proposed Independent Contractors Act with its goals of maximising tax revenue and retirement savings, according to leading workplace relations academic Professor Andrew Stewart.
Employment disputes which can no longer be dealt with by the AIRC under the new IR regime will inevitably find their way into other jurisdictions such as OHS, discrimination and trade practices law, says Sydney University Dean of Law, Professor Ron McCallum.
The approach the High Court might take in dealing with a challenge to the Coalition's IR package is far from certain and may depend on how bold the Government is in trying to cover as many workers as possible, according to leading constitutional academic Professor George Williams.
Federal WR Minister Kevin Andrews today announced changes to the Government's construction industry Code that will require contractors for Commonwealth building work to be Code-compliant before submitting tenders and to ensure all their new projects are Code-compliant, even on non-Government jobs.
