There are currently five industrial relations Bills before the Senate which were introduced to, among other things, respond to certain recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. The most controversial of these are the Fair Work Laws Amendment (Proper Use of Worker Benefits) Bill 2017 which seeks to place further scrutiny on the financial affairs of unions and protect workers' benefits in trusts and other funds controlled by unions, and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill 2017 which would require a public interest test to be applied to union mergers. We expect to see continued heated debate on these Bills when the Senate resumes sitting in 2018.
The proposed public interest test for union amalgamations, which would allow each union's record of compliance with industrial laws to be taken into account, is aimed squarely at blocking the planned merger of Australia's most militant unions; the CFMEU, the MUA and the TCFU. Employers have expressed grave concerns for the stability of the resources and energy supply chain if the merger proceeds, but with a FWC hearing on the merger to take place in Melbourne on 2 February 2018 it is unlikely the Bill will be passed in time to prevent the amalgamation. If the merger is approved, we can expect to see further legal action by employer groups to try to overturn the FWC's decision.