The irNews

23 Feb - Retail, Fastfood, Hospitality workers to have Sunday penalty rates cut

Sunday and public holiday penalty rates paid to reatil, hospitality and fast-food workers will be cut following a historic ruling by the Fair Work Commission.

• Full-time and part-time hospitality workers will have their Sunday penalty rate cut from 175 percent to 150 percent.
• Full-time and part-time retail workers will have their Sunday penalty rate cut from 200 percent to 150 percent.
• Full-time and part-time fast food workers will have their rate cut from 150 percent to 125
• Public holiday rate in retail, hospitality, and fast food will be cut.

21 Feb - Lost 9 minutes worth 400 jobs

The government’s top public service adviser says tax office ­employees’ refusal to work an extra nine minutes daily does not meet community standards, as the agency comes under fire for costing taxpayers 90,000 days ­annually in lost productivity.

14 Feb - SA power sector facing ABCC crossfire

SA Power Networks has ­angered unions by seeking to negotiate separate enterprise agreements for its 2000-strong workforce, insisting it would be unlikely to be eligible for an exemption from the Australian Building and Construction Commission’s new building code. Without a compliant enterprise agreement SA Power Networks commercial division will be shut out of tendering for federally funded projects.

14 Feb - Australian paper workers voting on union pay cut deal

900 workers at the Maryvale Australian Paper mill in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley are currently voting on the deal via ballot papers that the CFMEU has sent to each employee individually. The agreement includes a wage cut of 5 percent. In addition, it creates a new class of second-tier workers hired after July 2017, who will be paid 6.5 percent less than current employees.

9 Feb - Pay push threat after ABCC win

Employers have warned thousands of jobs on commonwealth projects are at risk, as the construction union left open seeking better pay and conditions if forced to renegotiate 3000 non-compliant building deals by August 31. Companies will also not be able to tender for commonwealth work from September 1 unless they have an agreement that removes a host of union-supported clauses that breach the code.

8 Feb - FWC ruling opens way for backpay claim

A commission full bench, led by vice-president Adam Hatcher, rejected an appeal by All Trades Queensland against a ruling last year placing apprentices under federal modern awards rather than lower-paying state awards. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union said yesterday that current and former apprentices and trainees ­engaged by ATQ could be owed more than $5 million.

8 Feb - Qld rail fail - unions refuse to accept responsibility

The Strachan Commission of Inquiry report found a 7 per cent reduction in train crew productivity between 2014 and 2016 was “due in part to more restrictive crewing rules agreed between unions and … management”. The generous conditions awarded to drivers who work on a rostered day off include a 75 per cent penalty payment – which can boost drivers’ salaries by tens of thousands of dollars a year. Queensland Rail has undertaken negotiations to increase flexibility around important crewing rules, such as suspending inflexible meal break rules, in order to improve productivity.

7 Feb - Bendigo involved in Centrelink industrial action

STAFF at Centrelink in Bendigo will be involved in work bans from February 15 and 24 as part of an ongoing pay and conditions dispute. The latest pay offer was rejected 70-30 by Community and Public Sector Union members.

5 Feb - Asian restaurant wage scam prompts Fair Work warning on cultural issues

FWC figures show that more than three-quarters of wage-fraud-related court actions taken by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) involve foreign workers on visas.

3 Feb - Michaelia cash vows to fix typo rules killing non-union EBA's

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash will seek to change federal workplace laws to address growing business frustration over the Fair Work Commission overturning non-union enterprise agreements due to what bosses have blasted as farcical technicalities.

1 Feb - Mining companies win cap on coals generous redundancy pay

A full bench of the FWC on Friday held the black coal mining award's redundancy entitlement of two weeks' pay for every year of service should be capped at a maximum 15 years of service or 30 weeks' payment. The bench agreed to grandfather the entitlement for existing workers with more than 15 years' service so they would be paid out on the years they had accrued at the time of its decision.