An AIRC full bench has ruled that union officials have right of entry to any workplace bound by an award covering its members - even if it is not the predominant award.
A rank and file Hamersley Iron worker told ACTU Congress today that "it devastated us" to find that the AWU's national leadership had struck a deal with Rio Tinto for the company's Pilbara iron ore sites.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has threatened to go ahead with creating a State IR jurisdiction if WR Minister Tony Abbott fails to act on his promise to accept Victoria's further referral of IR powers.
The strike threatening production in the car industry might be close to resolution, with workers at parts maker TI Automotive due to vote tomorrow on an in-principle deal struck this morning between the company and the AWU.
Unions will push to cap hours at 48 a week and to reduce the standard working week to 35 hours, under a policy adopted by the ACTU's Congress meeting today, while Opposition Leader Simon Crean said Labor would introduce a new public interest test to protect working families.
The Queensland IRC has boosted redundancy entitlements for long-serving employees, but rejected other key parts of the unions' bid to boost TCR standards.
Unions will push for a $102 increase in the minimum wage to $550 a week or $14.50 an hour, under a policy adopted today at the ACTU's triennial Congress meeting.
In another important development in the regulation of frontier industries, an award has been made that could eventually cover tens of thousands of workers in contract call centres.
