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Maurice Blackburn principal named deputy Fair Work president
A principal at national plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn has been appointed as deputy president of the Fair Work Commission, as the Albanese government moves to overcome what it referred to as the Coalition’s “shameless stack” of the FWC.
Jerome Doraisamy
Alexandra Grayson is the deputy president of the Fair Work Commission and will — Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said in a statement — bring a “strong base of technical knowledge and an industry reputation for professionalism and empathy developed over more than a quarter of a century in employment law”.
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Ms Grayson has been a principal at the national plaintiff firm for nearly six years and has also served as director and chair of multibillion-dollar superannuation fund Hostplus for almost a decade and as national industrial officer at the Finance Sector Union.
Since joining Maurice Blackburn’s employment law division in 2015, the firm detailed, “she has run many FWC cases, including those involving National Employment Standards, awards, enterprise agreements, industrial action, minimum wages, equal remuneration, dismissals and bullying”.
Ms Grayson is one of four deputy presidents to have been appointed, alongside Australian Municipal, Clerical and Services Union (NSW and ACT) deputy secretary Judith Wright; Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) senior legal officer Thomas Roberts; Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (WA) branch secretary Peter O’Keeffe; and Queensland Health senior director of industrial relations Sharon Durham.
Elsewhere, FWC deputy president Ingrid Asbury has been promoted to vice-president.
Announcing the appointments, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke said that the former government “spent a decade stacking the commission with appointees from employer backgrounds”.
“The appointees bring extensive experience to the roles, and I am confident they will execute their duties with impartiality and diligence,” he said.
“Even with these appointments, we are still a long way from balance. There is more work to do to correct the Coalition’s shameless stack.
“I look forward to the day when I can return to appointing people from employee and employer backgrounds in equal numbers. But there is an immediate imperative to restore the balance.
“The commission’s work will be more important than ever as the government progresses ambitious workplace relations reforms to lift wages, improve job security and close the loopholes undermining pay and conditions.”
Maurice Blackburn’s statement went on: “Ms Grayson has been a strong advocate for equality in the workplace, particularly on behalf of women in traditionally underpaid sectors such as aged care.”
“She has contributed on multiple occasions to the Respect@Work inquiry and has previously provided advice on proposed statutory changes relating to religious discrimination in schools.”
Speaking about the appointment, Maurice Blackburn chief executive Jacob Varghese said that the firm is “extremely proud” to see Ms Grayson being recognised.
“She has a tremendous record as a lawyer representing hundreds of employees every year. She is keenly aware of the challenges that employees face when disputes arise and the need to ensure they get a fair hearing,” he said.
“Alex’s reputation and industry recognition are demonstrated by her industry awards and her repeated recognition by Doyle’s Guide as one of Australia and NSW’s preeminent employment and industrial lawyers. She is the equal highest ranked employee focused female workplace lawyer in Australia.”
Ms Grayson’s term will commence on 14 July 2023.
