Up to 2000 Pacific Islanders will soon fly to Australia to plug labour gaps under a deal struck in Samoa. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signed agreements with leaders from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Nauru on the sidelines of the annual Pacific Islands Forum. Pacific workers will be sent to rural and remote towns for up to three years to cover shortages in low and semi-skilled jobs. The deal expands on the longstanding, farming-based seasonal workers scheme to include industries such as tourism and aged care.
September 12, 2017
Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation has a brace of (s.365 – Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal (consent arbitration)) with which it must contend. Commissioner Simpson in Fair Work Commission Central Plaza Two Level 14 66 Eagle Street Brisbane will hear the duo (Dargan/Roos).
September 12, 2017
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Linburn Nursing Home for its Linburn Nursing Home, NSWNMA, ANMF NSW Branch and HSU New South Wales Branch Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been approved by Commissioner Saunders in Newcastle on 8 September 2017.
September 12, 2017
An application by Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (s.217 – Application to vary an agreement to remove an ambiguity or uncertainty) will be determined by Commissioner Cribb in Court 6 – Level 6 in Melbourne.
September 12, 2017
The serial thug who attacked Wadeye nurse Vicki Myers in 2016 – his latest in a string of attacks on female nurses, teachers and service workers – has been jailed and will likely never again be allowed to live in the town. Edmund Tcherna was sentenced to two years and six months jail with no non-parole period over what Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Grant called the “disturbing assault” and a related property damage charge. He said the attack demonstrated an escalation of Tcherna’s pattern of unprovoked violence towards defenceless female service workers.
September 12, 2017
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Homewood Care Pty Ltd T/A Homewood Care for its Homewood Care Pty Ltd, NSWNMA, ANMF NSW Branch and HSU New South Wales Branch Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been ratified by Commissioner Saunders in Newcastle on 8 September 2017.
September 12, 2017
Questions have been raised over the way NSW Health handles psychological injury claims among its employees, with internal documents showing the claims are sent to the department’s lawyers before they can be assessed by a medical officer. Critics – including some employees who have lodged claims – say the department’s new pre-liability early intervention process for psychological injury suggests claims are treated with suspicion and seen as potentially fertile ground for fraud. NSW Health has firmly rejected the assertion the claims are intended to discredit workers, saying the process enables employees to fast access treatment and removes barriers for claimants. From February 1 psychological injury claims where liability is a concern are sent to the local health district’s legal team before an independent medical officer (IMO), according to the guidelines. This fast-tracking process allows workers to access “reasonably necessary treatment” while their claim is investigated. “Delays in liability decisions can have a negative impact on the worker if they are unable to access the necessary treatment to facilitate their recovery,” the document read. “Immediate treatment which is reasonably necessary, can be sought by the worker even though the claim is reasonably excused.” But the guidelines also stipulate that solicitors help tailor questions for an IMO to ask employees who have lodged a psychological claim. “[Solicitors’] advice will also include the most suitable and appropriate questions for Independent Medical Investigations (IMEs) to ensure relevant information is obtained,” the process document reads.
September 12, 2017
Four youths have been charged with property offences overnight in Pimlico. Police were called to a retirement village on Acacia Street, Mundingburra after receiving information of several youths trespassing.
