Mining giant BHP Billiton has been hit with two class actions alleging it hired hundreds of mine workers as casual employees to avoid paying proper wages and benefits, and industry heavyweights Yancoal and Glencore may face similar claims in the coming months.
Two employer groups have lost their appeal of a Fair Work Commission decision that signed off on the merger of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union with two other unions.
The Federal Court has agreed to set aside another week for trial in an unfair dismissal case brought by former HWL Ebsworth senior counsel Dr Gary Rumble against his old law firm.
The CFMMEU has been ordered to pay $142,000 in penalties after the Federal Court found the union had aborted an elaborate construction procedure in Melbourne and threatened four contractors if they continued to work onsite.
The Fair Work Ombudsman lost its argument for $4.1 million in penalties against the CFMMEU for industrial action at shipping terminals in Sydney and Brisbane, with a judge instead fining the union just $38,000.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched a 12-month investigation into workplace sexual harassment, the first of its kind birthed from the growing #MeToo movement.
A lawyer for two sacked CFMEU officials has accused Australia’s biggest union of “bleeding dry” his whistleblower clients after it vowed in court Tuesday to fight the consolidation of three cases against it.
A Pizza Hut outlet on the Gold Coast has been hit with fines totalling $216,700 after it was found to have misclassified a delivery driver and falsified records to cover it up, the Fair Work Ombudsman said Friday.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and one of its officials have been fined more than $50,000 after the official targeted a group of Chevron workers with a foul-mouthed “rant” for leaving the union.
The High Court has said pensions can count as lost earnings, agreeing with a ruling from the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia that found an individual dying from work-related mesothelioma was owed compensation for the expected loss of his superannuation.