Yesterday
Union wins milestone from BHP, adds MinRes to target list
BHP’s historic concession comes as unions extend their Pilbara organising efforts to the struggling Mineral Resources following a spate of truck crashes.
This Month
Labor MP turned umpire targeted over ‘same job, same pay’ support
Fair Work Commission deputy president Terri Butler is facing legal action that could stop her dealing with key parts of Labor’s agenda on the grounds of apprehended bias.
No repeal, but Coalition open to changing ‘same job same pay’ laws
A Dutton government would assess changes to Labor’s laws as part of a review originally agreed to by the Albanese government, even as Peter Dutton ruled out repealing the legislation.
Albanese emboldens unions to seek 4.5pc minimum wage increase
The ACTU’s wage claim, pitched as a catch-up increase after a decline in real wages, is almost double the current inflation rate despite little productivity growth.
The most important IR change the next government will make
Whoever wins the federal election will be picking the next head of the Fair Work Commission, who has an outsized influence on wage decisions.
Employers call for 2.5pc minimum wage increase
A major employer group argues any above-inflation increase in the minimum wage must be linked to productivity, clashing with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Labor pushes for above-inflation minimum wage rise despite RBA warning
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has warned that increasing wages while productivity remains stagnant will put future interest rate cuts at risk.
Labor targets Dutton’s WFH wind-back as ‘straight from DOGE playbook’
Labor will launch an attack on the Coalition’s return-to-the-office plans and public sector cuts by comparing them to Elon Musk’s cost-cutting outfit under Trump.
March
Judge slams CFMEU administrator for resisting coercion probe
A CFMEU official allegedly threatened one owner on the Monash Freeway project that he would take his soul and rip his head off.
Players in alleged $200m GST scam turn on each other in court
Each of the two former directors of pub-owning company Virtical say the other was responsible for invoices that could reveal the biggest GST tax fraud in Australia’s history if proven.
Secret six-figure payout to banker suspected of child porn
Gresham and its shareholder Wesfarmers later engaged law firms to investigate. A decade later, the executive was cleared of having child exploitation material.
$5m gold bullion twist in hunt for collapsed pub group’s millions
Former Virtical director Mark Toma told a court it wasn’t him who turned up in a Range Rover to buy bullion from a Martin Place gold merchant, as the pub group’s $100 million fake GST refund scandal erupted.
Unions file to force Rio Tinto to the table in the Pilbara
Unions have launched legal action for orders to compel the mining giant to negotiate the first union agreement in three decades.
Non-compete ban threatens value of business deals: investors, lawyers
Making it easy for workers to go work for the competitor down the road may help increase wages, but it could also have an impact on acquisitions.
Is a non-compete clause for your hairdresser overkill?
Barney Martin sold his salon partly because staff kept going freelance. But stylists told a Treasury-commissioned study they shouldn’t have to leave their loyal clients behind.
Dutton’s seat a target in $2m union war against nuclear
The campaign in a dozen key seats across the east coast is one of the most significant union spends in the federal election.
CFMEU asks court for more powers despite crackdown
The CFMEU has challenged new limits to its delegates powers, including making them subject to “reasonable employer policies” and a prohibition on obstructing work.
Rio boosts travel, training perks as Pilbara union war heats up
Workers at Rio Tinto operations in the WA mining zone are being offered increased benefits, just as unions try to convince them they need organised representation.
Class action flagged over CFMEU and Setka ‘blacklist’
A law firm is preparing a class action against the CFMEU and former leader John Setka for allegedly banning its own members from the industry.
Pub owners’ assets frozen amid fake GST refunds investigation
The former directors of collapsed hospitality empire Virtical have had their assets frozen amid an inquiry into hundreds of millions of dollars of fake GST claims.