State ALP IR Ministers are planning another special meeting later this month to discuss their response to the Federal Government's planned takeover of their industrial relations systems. They have also accused Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews of again failing to consult by pulling out of the next Workplace Relations Ministerial Council meeting, which was scheduled for April 28.
AIRC President asks Howard Government to collate details of its critique of past wage case decisions; Court issues injunction against Woodside oil platform engineers; AIRC recommends WA coal miners end strike; Westpac workers to stop work on Friday in Victoria; and Qantas increases surveillance of baggage handlers.
Labour force participation will decline from 63.5% now to 56.3% by 2045 based on current projections, mainly due to population ageing, but it can be partly offset by increasing participation and productivity, according to the Productivity Commission.
An employer who tried to take advantage of a young employee whose aunt had just died has been ordered to pay her $15,000 in damages for sexual harassment and discrimination.
The ACTU told the AIRC today that there was a strong economic argument for lifting minimum wages to $494 a week, while Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews again commended the UK's model for setting minimum wages and made it clear he wanted workers earning more than the federal safety net to bargain for pay rises.
An employer who made a worker redundant because of her family responsibilities, including caring for a terminally ill mother, has been ordered to pay the employee $5,664 in lost wages.
More than 80% of requests for flexible work arrangements have been fully or partly accepted by UK employers since the Blair Government introduced "right to request" provisions in April 2003.
On the eve of the AIRC hearing what might be the last national wage case, the ACTU has written to PM John Howard asking him to guarantee his Government's plans to change pay-setting arrangements won't cut the value of workers' real wages.
The Howard Government's plan to create a unitary IR system by moving the regulatory underpinnings from the Constitution's labour power to the corporations power is a radical shift that the High Court might be obliged to curb, according to Sydney University Dean of Law, Ron McCallum.
New airline startup OzJet is looking to labour hire companies to fill all back-of-house jobs, but it intends to hire employees directly for its customer service roles.
