NSW rail workers will be subject to random drug and alcohol tests under new regulations to be introduced by the end of the week, despite union claims that the new tests will not measure employees' actual impairment.
The AIRC has ruled that a salesman's dismissal for smoking marijuana at a work New Years Eve party was unfair because two other employees sharing the joint with him did not have their employment terminated.
The Queensland IRC has cleared a radio station of discrimination and victimisation claims, after finding that its requirement that an announcer take part in provocative promotions and work on Sunday were reasonable despite his religious beliefs.
The ACTU says the Howard Government is abandoning working families, after the Prime Minister backed away from work and family reforms, saying the current policy mix is "about right in providing effective choice for parents".
Rail unions are preparing for a showdown with Pacific National after the consortium said unions had backtracked on several clauses already agreed to in the parties' proposed enterprise agreement.
Unions will commit to a goal of capping weekly hours at 48 a week and seek an increase in the federal minimum weekly wage to $500 and a rise in super contributions to 10%, under draft policies to go before the ACTU's triennial Congress later this month. They are also expected to approve a substantial increase in membership fees to fund organising and renewal.
A supervisor's abrasive and belittling management style did not amount to workplace bullying, the AIRC has found, but it was inappropriate and warranted her dismissal.
The AIRC for the second time in a month has refused to certify an agreement because it contained a clause requiring contractors to have union EAs. This time, the Commission also found unacceptable a union right of entry provision.
Hydro Tasmania has doubled its paid parental leave for the primary caregiver to 12 weeks and provided new protection for employees against individual legal liability, under the terms of a new agreement certified by the AIRC yesterday.
