Settlement of a deal with the 11 or so members of the Victorian construction industry's breakout group appears imminent, but the CFMEU is still working on its insurance policy, putting in place a new strategy to avoid arbitration under s170MX.
Unions and lift companies in Victoria have reached agreement in principle on a deal that will deliver the 350-400 employees in the industry a pay rise of 5% a year.
Employers might not agree with everything in CFMEU president Tony Maher's attack on the IRC, but some have little argument with his call for the Commission to be better resourced and provide speedier decisions.
An employee dismissed by Nestle Confectionery after alleged flirtatious, drunken behaviour at the company Christmas party, including revealing a tattoo near her groin, has been awarded $29,000 compensation after a senior member of the IRC ruled the company's disciplinary action went too far.
The CBA plans to reorient its pay structure in its proposed enterprise agreement, limiting the safety net increase for its 25,000 employees to 4% over two years and increasing the proportion of at-risk pay.
The CFMEU has used the Workplace Relations Act's s170NC anti-coercion provisions to fetter the legal strategies of a major builder and its subcontractors in the current bargaining dispute in the Victorian building industry.
Justice Alan Boulton at noon on Monday March 27 is to hear the CFMEU's application to stay Cmr Bob Merriman's decision to terminate the bargaining period of 216 construction companies in Victoria.