Category Archives: Industrial relations

Virgin Australia delays vote on controversial enterprise agreement that would cut pilots’ days off

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Exclusive: Last-minute decision comes as Civil Aviation Safety Authority says it is ‘engaging’ with airline on concerns rostering is leaving pilots fatigued

Virgin Australia has made a last-minute decision to delay putting a controversial pilots’ enterprise deal to vote, after outcry about its plan to cut days off and concerns that pilot rostering was nearing unsafe limits.

The decision comes as Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) officials flagged they were aware of fatigue concerns over Virgin Australia’s pilot rostering after the Guardian revealed internal disquiet on the issue among senior pilots and frustration at what they felt was an inadequate response from management.

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Border force apologises for failing to prevent ‘misconduct’ after reports found bullying and harassment

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Exclusive: Apology issued to staff includes pledge ‘to foster a safe, inclusive, empowered, accountable and supportive workplace’

The Australian Border Force has apologised to its staff for failing to “prevent workplace misconduct from occurring” after two damning reports found sexual discrimination and harassment rife in the ABF.

The ABF’s senior leadership issued the apology in May, after Australian Human Rights Commission reports into the culture of the marine unit and the broader ABF found bullying and harassment “are normalised” in some sections of the workforce.

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Politics live: question time claims and counter-claims over Australia’s military ties with Israel

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Going fully electric would save households more than $600 a year for next four decades, report says

Households would save an average of $608 a year for the next 40 years if new residential buildings in New South Wales were required to be fully electric, according to a report commissioned by climate organisation 350 Australia.

It cuts energy bills for local residents and small businesses during a cost of living crisis and reduces climate pollution, at almost no cost to councils. It will be low-income people and renters who will benefit most from council-led electrification.

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Anthony Albanese accuses Coalition of ‘secret’ plans to cut Australian wages

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In speech to ACTU conference, prime minister says opposition’s ‘gut instinct is always to gut workers’ rights’

Anthony Albanese has accused the Coalition of “secret” plans to cut wages through changes to industrial relations laws.

The prime minister said the Liberal and National parties’ “gut instinct is always to gut workers’ rights” in an address to the Australian Council of Trade Unions conference in Adelaide on Wednesday evening.

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Minimum wage workers in Australia to get a 3.75% pay rise over the next 12 months

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Annual increase compares with 4.1% pace of wage price index growth in year to March

Australia’s lowest-paid workers will collect a pay rise of 3.75% in the coming year, a result likely to please the Reserve Bank but dismay unions who sought a 5% rise.

The Fair Work Commission announced the 2024-25 decision for minimum and award wages on Monday. The increase affects about one in four employees from 1 July.

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‘Rostering to the limits’: senior Virgin Australia pilots raise safety concerns over fatigue

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Exclusive: Correspondence from pilots seen by Guardian Australia pleads for changes to the roster system to address fatigue

Senior pilots at Virgin Australia have alleged fatigue is widespread in their ranks and raised safety concerns about a roster system some claim is working them “to the limits”.

As Virgin Australia and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) remain in a standoff over a proposal to strip pilots of six days off a year in negotiations for a new enterprise agreement, Guardian Australia has obtained correspondence from senior pilots pleading for action to address worker fatigue.

Multiple senior pilots say the rostering system used by Virgin is adding to fatigue levels.

The system routinely schedules pilots to work maximum shift lengths – 11-12 hours and longer in the event of delays – on back-to-back days, while allowing for just the legal minimum rest period of 12 hours.

Pilots have raised concerns with management about the roster software and claim that the private equity owners of the airline, Bain Capital, have not followed through on a promise to replace it.

Frustration at what they claim is management’s failure to recognise these issues, or respond to staff warning of a resulting “clear, present and increasing safety risk”.

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Job providers receiving millions of dollars for positions found by jobseekers themselves

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Welfare advocates say there is ‘simply no reason’ for $3.6m in payments over past five years to agencies when jobs were found prior to engaging their service

Job providers are being paid millions of dollars in public money for work that jobseekers are finding themselves, with advocates saying there is “simply no reason” for the payments.

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has paid providers over $3.6m in the past five years for pre-existing employment, where someone on jobseeker found a job prior to starting with a provider, according to data provided to Guardian Australia by the department.

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Australia politics live: Toyota boss says fuel efficiency standard ‘not a car tax’ as Labor defends secrecy around bill

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Renewed push to scrap activity level requirements for childcare subsidies

There was a lot of disappointment last budget when the government did not scrap the activity test as a way of making early child education more accessible and universal.

Zoe Daniel MP, Member for Goldstein

Georgie Dent, the CEO of the Parenthood

Sam Page, the CEO of Early Childhood Australia

Kate Carnell, the former Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman and former ACT chief minister

Natalie Walker, the deputy chair of Goodstart Early Learning

Sue Morphett, a businesswoman and the former president of Chief Executive Women

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Coles pay offer labelled ‘insulting’ as staff say they can’t afford to shop at own workplace

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One worker says she feels ‘disrespected’ by proposed agreement, which includes in-store gift cards if staff vote to accept

Some Coles workers say an offer from the supermarket giant of in-store gift cards if they vote to accept a new enterprise agreement is “insulting”, and the agreement doesn’t give them a meaningful pay rise despite the company’s increased profits.

One employee said she felt “disrespected” by the offer, which comes at a time when some staff say they are skipping meals and shopping at other supermarkets because they can’t afford food from their own workplace.

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Victoria to limit WorkCover compensation for stress after deal struck with opposition

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Workers receiving payments beyond two-and-a-half years to undergo another impairment test under changes expected to pass parliament

Workers’ compensation for mental health injuries such as stress and burnout will be limited after the Victorian government struck a deal to push through contentious changes to the state’s “broken” WorkCover scheme.

Premiums for businesses under the scheme would also be frozen for the 2024-25 financial year, under an agreement with the state’s opposition to secure support for the bill.

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Right to disconnect bill passes Senate but needs urgent fix to remove criminal penalties for employers

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Labor will be forced to introduce special legislation after Coalition prevented last-minute amendments to fix the issue

Labor’s closing loopholes bill has passed the Senate with a Greens amendment creating a new right for employees to disconnect from work emails and calls.

But the final votes were thrown into confusion by the discovery that the bill inadvertently allowed criminal penalties for breach of a stop order by the Fair Work Commission. Labor sought leave to amend this, but was denied by the Coalition.

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Right to disconnect from work laws set to pass Australian parliament after deals with crossbench

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Adam Bandt says changes to industrial relations bill mean ‘when you clock off, you’ll be able to switch off’

Labor’s so-called “closing loopholes” bill is set to pass parliament after deals with the crossbench, including inserting a Greens amendment creating a right to disconnect from work for employees.

On Wednesday the Greens announced the Albanese government had accepted the right to disconnect, which will prevent employees being punished for refusing to take unreasonable work calls or answer emails in their unpaid personal time.

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NSW Liberals propose weakening unfair-dismissal protections under new industrial relations platform

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The policy platform, to be considered later this month, also seeks to abandon annual wage rises for middle and high income earners on award safety nets

The New South Wales Liberals are set to adopt an industrial relations policy to water down unfair-dismissal protections and abandon annual wage rises for middle and high income earners on award safety nets.

The policy, to be considered at the state council annual general meeting later in February, is an ambitious blueprint for reforms to the federal Fair Work Act likely to spark a hostile reaction from unions over weakening worker protections.

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ABC denies sacking Antoinette Lattouf and attempts to have termination case thrown out

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Move comes as pressure mounts on broadcaster’s management with union members passing vote of no confidence in managing director David Anderson

The ABC has claimed it did not sack the journalist Antoinette Lattouf from her casual radio role, paving the way to attempt to have her termination case thrown out.

It comes as pressure mounts on the broadcaster’s management, with union members passing a vote of no confidence in the managing director, David Anderson.

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Centrelink staff claim toilet breaks are being timed by management in ‘intrusive’ crackdown

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Call centre workers say systems are monitoring their performance minute-by-minute in bid to improve wait times

Centrelink call centre staff claim they are being monitored minute-by-minute, including the length of their bathroom breaks, as part of a management-led crackdown to improve average call wait times that have blown out to nearly double in the last year.

Staff spoke to Guardian Australia on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing their jobs, claiming management systems, which assist team leaders in capturing call time figures and monitoring staff activities, acted more like a surveillance system, describing them as “intrusive and stressful”.

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Victorian Labor at odds with federal party on industrial relations bill

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State treasurer Tim Pallas warns amendments will encourage unions to refuse to bargain as he seeks meeting with Tony Burke

The Victorian government and employer groups have raised the alarm about amendments to Labor’s industrial relations bill, warning they will embolden unions to refuse to bargain with industry.

The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, has written to the federal workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, warning the amendments will guarantee unions “will be no worse off on a clause by clause basis” if they dig in and seek an arbitrated outcome from the industrial umpire, encouraging unions to do so.

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BMA Saraji coalmine incident: worker crushed to death at Queensland mine

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Mining safety regulator launches investigation after 27-year-old man killed at BHP-owned mine in the Bowen Basin

The mining safety regulator has begun an investigation after an employee was crushed to death at a central Queensland coalmine on Monday.

The 27-year-old man was working at southern section of the BMA Saraji coalmine located in the Bowen Basin, near Dysart, south-west of Mackay. The mine is owned by BHP.

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Rubbish bin and rocks used in attack on mobile speed camera in Melbourne that injured operator

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Police say group jumped on the car in Coburg and shattered windows in what union calls ‘horrific planned assault’

A mobile speed camera operator has been injured after his car was attacked by five men in a Melbourne street.

The blue SUV, fixed with traffic cameras in its rear window, was operating on Nicholson Street at Coburg in the early hours of Friday morning when it was attacked.

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‘Dangerous product’: Australian ban on engineered stone benchtops to begin next year

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Most states and territories to ban product on 1 July, with Commonwealth flagging an import prohibition

Australia will ban engineered stone from 1 July 2024, following a meeting of state and federal workplace ministers.

According to Queensland and Victorian governments, ministers on Wednesday agreed to ban the material, which is commonly used in kitchen and bathroom benchtops.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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