The CFMEU and its national secretary, John Maitland, have failed to establish they were defamed in a 2001 Daily Telegraph article by columnist Piers Akerman that, according to the union, implied they had condoned the "violent, destructive attacks" and standover tactics used in the alleged "raid" on Johnson Tiles.
In a sign that wages are edging upwards, hourly pay rates excluding bonuses are growing at a trend rate of 3.7% a year, equalling the record highest growth since the ABS began compiling the Wage Cost Index in September 1997.
Public school teachers across NSW will hold a 48 hour stoppage unless the State Government withdraws its application to reopen the wage claim currently awaiting decision in the State's IRC, the NSW Teachers Federation has warned.
A finance director for a Sydney Water subsidiary who was sacked for alleged misuse of his employer's property and failing to follow proper accountability procedures has been found to have breached his duty of fidelity and had his unfair contract claim thrown out by the NSW IRC.
NSW Upper House committee recommends new offence of corporate manslaughter; AIRC changes panels as Munro prepares for exit; Electronic lodgment of agreements helps CFMEU get agreements in on time; AIRC launches new notification service for awards; AIRC member refuses to step down from union registration case; Commission full bench to hear test case on reinstatement of incapacitated employee; There's time to boost workforce participation, says OECD; and HSBC says wages heading for 4.25% next year.
The Howard Government's Cole Bill reflects a move away from "reluctant tolerance" of unions and towards repression, according to a newly-released legislation guide from the Federal Parliamentary Library. The library has also released new guides to other workplace legislation.
A full bench of the SA IRC has warned employers that clauses covering drug tests in employment contracts must clearly distinguish the penalties for positive results in random drug tests from those conducted on employees suspected of working while under the influence.
Channel 9 will later this month seek special leave from the High Court to challenge a NSW Court of Appeal defamation ruling that arose from a Sixty Minutes program on the BWIU and the construction industry. The case is one of a number of IR or employment-related special leave bids to be heard on Friday, May 28.
The Federal Court has extended an interlocutory injunction stopping the WA CFMEU (construction & general division) from exercising the right it won in the State IRC to enter without notice the $650 million ammonia plant construction site in the State's north-west.
