Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews says he is keen to consult on all aspects of workplace reform, despite his office telling Workplace Express last week that the Cole bill would be put to Parliament this year with no changes at all.
The CFMEU (construction division) is getting a mixed response from employers to its bid to bed down new agreements ahead of the Coalition gaining control of the Senate in July.
An employer has failed to win costs for an unfair termination case despite a former employee pleading guilty to three charges over conduct for which she was sacked, while in other recent dismissal cases tribunals have refused to accept a resignation letter written by an employer and an employer's dismissal of a sick employee.
Terence Cole, the head of the $65m Building and Construction Industry Royal Commission that handed down its report in 2003, has been awarded an Order of Australia for his contribution to reform of the industry.
The long-running and costly dispute over the forced redundancy of production and maintenance workers at Fairfax's Spencer Street plant has been resolved, with the employees who lost their jobs receiving an extra $20,000 each.
A Government-dominated federal parliamentary committee will consider the status of labour hire and independent contracting arrangements, in response to a request by Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews, who promised during last year's election campaign to introduce an Independent Contractors Act.
A Barnett Government in WA will remodel the Gallop Government's individual contracts stream to make it "competitive" with AWAs if it is elected at the February 26 State poll.
More than 1,800 Harris Scarfe employees across three states will receive a pay increase of almost 11% over two years, under an enterprise deal the shop union claims "brings home the bacon" after wage restraint helped the retailer trade out of voluntary administration three years ago.
