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  Issue No 121 Official Organ of LaborNet 30 November 2001  

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Labour Review

Neale Towart's Labour Review


As international forces converge on his mountain hideaway, our hero avoids capture by shaving all his body hair and masquerading as a bowling ball to dispatch his latest missive.

 
 

Neale Towart

Superannuation and Notice Payments by Natalie Gullifer

The question of whether employers should include superannuation when calculating payment in lieu of notice was until recently apparently a simple process. However some recent decisions and the concept of 'total employment cost' have clouded the area.

The author concludes that employers should base payouts on the total salary package including superannuation. The superannuation component should be sent to the employees super fund.

(Employment Law Bulletin; vol. 7, no. 6, 2001)

Corporate Collapses and Business Restructuring by Anthony Forsyth

The recent string of corporate collapses, restructuring decisions and relocation announcements in Australia raises important questions about the information disclosure and consultation obligations of employers. Forsyth looks at the inadequacies of current law and ACTU proposals to increase employee protection.

(CCH Australian Industrial Law Update; newsletter 10, October 2001)

Working Overseas and Australian Industrial Law Jurisdiction

An employee was deemed to have access to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission in regard to an unfair dismissal claim. The original decision by a single Commissioner was that they did not have jurisdiction because the industry did not have sufficient connection with WA as most work was performed in either Singapore or France. The Full Bench agreed that the work was performed outside their jurisdiction but that the work, the subject of the contract of employment, was performed by an employee in an industry having a substantial and real connection with WA.

Parker v Transfield WACt Appeal (Kennedy J, McKechnie J, Hasluck, J) 7/8/01.

(CCH Australian Industrial Law Update; newsletter 10, October 2001)

Genetic Testing and Australia's Anti-discrimination laws - Do They Pass the Test? by Joan Napoli

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has raised as an issue for discussion the effectiveness of current anti-discrimination laws, privacy and other workplace laws to protect workers from discrimination or disadvantage based on genetic make-up or predisposition to disease.

In a recently released discussion paper entitled 'Protection of Human Genetic Information', the ALRC highlighted potential concerns about the use of human genetic information in a range of areas, including employment.

The ALRC and the Australian Health Ethics Committee have been asked by the federal government to consider what sort of regulation might be needed in relation to human genetic samples and information to protect privacy, provide protection from discrimination, and ensure standards of ethical conduct. The ALRC is seeking public comment on the issues raised in the discussion paper.

http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au

Court Opens Way for Casuals To Claim Unfair Dismissal

Casuals will be able to make unfair dismissal claims after three months rather than 12, following a Federal Court interpretation of the WR Act and Regulations.

The court found invalid two related regulations limiting the ability of casuals to pursue unfair dismissal claims:

� Regulation s30B(1)(d) which excluded casuals engaged for a short period of time, within the meaning of Regulations 30B(3); and

� Regulation 30B(3), which said casuals were taken to be engaged for a short period unless they were engaged on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months and thad a reasonable expectation of continuing employment.

Justices Murray Wilcox, Shane Marshall and Leslie Katz said that Regulation 30B(1) went beyond the bounds of the regulation-making power conferred on the Governor-General by s170CC(1)(c) of the WR Act.

The court's decision in the case, Hamzy v Tricon International Restaurants, means that casuals can seek an unfair dismissal remedy after three months, rather than the 12 months that applied under the quashed regulations.

http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au

Work Experience and Award Wages

Judge Parsons of the South Australian Industrial Relations Court found that a student who started unpaid work experience was entitled to more than $12,000 from her employer as reimbursement for underpaid work.

The cellarperson was required to attend 240 hours work experience within the wine industry as part of her Wine Marketing Course. This work could be paid or unpaid and was to be arranged by the student at times that did not conflict with their other studies.

After working about 168 hours with another company, she approached the defendant, then trading as Skye Cellars, about the possibility of working for them for the remaining 72 hours.

The cellarperson said she worked for the defendant for the ensuing eight months, working most Saturdays for nine hours a day and full time for the last 13 weeks with the employer. This was regardless of already meeting her course requirements, and because she believed it was expected of her to be there on the specified days.

During this time, the employer paid the cellarperson around $50 a day, without being told what the payment was for except that it was a contribution to her travel expenses.

The decision calls for employers to be aware of the award wage associated with the tasks any kind of employee carries out at all times.

Cossich v G Rossetto and Co Pty Ltd CAN 007 611 494 (T/as Skye Cellars) [2001] SAIRC 37 (26 October 2001)

http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au

Victoria To Stamp Out Child Exploitation

Employment for Victorian children under the age of 15 is likely to be more strongly regulated, following the release of a report by the Victorian Government.

Under the proposed regulations, employers who exploit children's services may face jail terms and fines if they breach the Community Services Act 1970, which currently regulates child employment.

It says the Act had failed to adequately protect minors against risks in employment.

The report, produced by IR Victoria with assistance from other State agencies, aims to review current regulation of child employment and to produce a policy that can be adopted by other regulators which want to stamp out child exploitation.

http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au

OHS and the Changes to the Privacy Act (Cth) by James Hutchinson

Outlines the obligations for private sector employers of the new privacy legislation. Compliance with the legislation and OHS record keeping and exemptions are discussed here. Personal information in regard to employee health and general OHS performance are aspects employers need to be aware of.

(CCH Occupational Health & Safety Update; newsletter 10, October 2001)

Making Globalisation Work for People

A Global Unions Day of Action on 9th November 2001 demanded a reform to the World Trade Organisation and its policies through action based in workplaces. The principle was "Making Globalisation Work for People." Trade Union World has a special section on unions and international workers rights. The articles include demands to reform the IMF and the World Bank, criticism of the WTO's choice of Qatar as a meeting place, global action on AIDS, rights of workers under economic reform in Burkino Faso and Rwanda, China's entry to the WTO, export processing zones, and Maquiladoras in Guetamala.

(Trade Union World; no. 11, November 2001)


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*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 121 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Back to the Battle
Federal Labor's new industrial relations spokesman Robert McClelland outlines the challenges for the next three years.
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*  Politics: The Baby and the Bath Water
ACTU secretary Greg Combet gives his take on the debate over the ALP's relations with the union movement.
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*  Unions: We're Solid
Bradon Ellem charts the history of the Pilbara dispute, and finds a revitalised grass-roots unionism challenging BHP's individual contracts bulldozer
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*  Organising: Benidgo Pioneer Comes Up Trumps
ACTU Delegate of the Year, Leonie Saunders, is living proof of the way unions are adapting to life under the strictures of a hostile Government.
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*  Technology: India: Cricket, Computers and Corruption
Russell Lansbury cuts through the hype to look out the so-called hi-tech revolution on the sub-continent.
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*  International: Soul Searching
The party of labour in Canada � the NDP - is right now undergoing a massive struggle for its heart and soul.
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*  History: A Timeless Debate
The ALP and unions - it's a debate that's raged for years as this extract from a 1947 Lloyd Ross pamplet shows.
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*  Review: In Fear of Security
Launching his new book, Anthony Burke argues that the cry of "security" is the last refuge of the political scoundrel
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News
»  Union Journo on Death List
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»  First 'Lab Rats' in Bank Hold-Up
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»  Monk's Mad Power Grab from States
*
»  Big Print Merger Threatens Jobs
*
»  Anger as Labor Staffers Shun Unions
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»  Unions Are Well Advanced In Change Unions Tell ALP
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»  Unions Step Up Organising Drive
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»  Education, Call Centre Unions Sweep Awards
*
»  Bank AGMs Focus of Worker Anger
*
»  Gender Balance in Transport Concessions
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»  Concern As Sydney Collapses
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»  Bakers Seek More Bread
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»  CFMEU Forces Re-Think On Asbestos
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»  Call Goes Out for Union Summer
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»  Twelve Weeks Parental Leave For Kiwis
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»  Organiser of the Year Nominations Open
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»  Activists Notebook
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  Sport
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»  Labour Review
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  What's Wrong With Labor
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»  Why I'm Quitting the ALP
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»  Compo Flak
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»  Union Democracy
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»  Multi-Skilling Corrigan Style
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