News
Federal Elections
Abetz lets slip Coalition’s real IR agenda – no pay rises without loss of penalty rates and conditions
22 August 2013
Eric Abetz has confirmed today that an Abbott Government will try to stop workers getting pay rises above inflation unless they give up conditions. ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said Mr Abetz's comments in The Australian this morning that the Coalition would demand "excessive" wage rises include productivity reforms should ring…
Business is gearing up for a post-election push to reshape Australia's industrial relations landscape if the Coalition wins office: weakening unfair dismissal protections, cutting penalty rates and trading off conditions under the guise of 'flexibility', the ACTU said. Tony Abbott has today admitted there would be "all sorts of changes"…
Focus on carbon productivity for fair, sustainable climate action: union, welfare, environment & research groups
21 August 2013
Australia can only achieve prosperity, competitiveness and fairness in the 21st century with stronger climate policies that improve carbon and energy productivity, said an alliance of social, union, environment and research organisations today, releasing a policy platform Productivity, Fairness and Sustainable Climate Action. The Southern Cross Climate Coalition, which comprises…
Tony Abbott must rule out changes to penalty rates following revelations his IR spokesman, Eric Abetz, has been secretly meeting with big business groups running a campaign to strip penalty rates from hundreds of thousands of workers. ACTU National Secretary Dave Oliver said Tony Abbott needed to guarantee a future…
Unfair dismissal, penalty rates, overtime: Abbott to act on real small business agenda after the election
19 August 2013
Tony Abbott's plans for small business will only be fully unveiled after the election when the Coalition reviews the Fair Work Act to pave the way for cuts to penalty rates, overtime and unfair dismissal protections, the ACTU said today. The policy on red tape and competition laws announced today…
Australian workers are worried about paying their bills and keeping their jobs as they head into the federal election, the biggest ever survey of union members has found. The ACTU has undertaken a record 102,000 telephone surveys of workers across a range of industries including nurses, construction workers, public servants,…
ACTU analysis of major parties policies shows Coalition is worse for women and families: one policy is not enough
19 August 2013
ACTU calls for greater emphasis on addressing what matters to women and families as analysis of the two major parties shows women and families fare better under Labor and the Coalition's one policy would only minimally address the major issues. The analysis compared policies around paid parental leave, time to…
The ASU is concerned to have read in this week’s media reports that Abbott is planning to fund his controversial paid parental leave scheme by excluding public sector workers, including local government employees, from it. In effect, council workers, teachers and nurses, amongst many others, would lose out in order…
Threat to penalty rates under spotlight at the Ekka
14 August 2013
ACTU president Ged Kearney joins workers at People's Day at the Exhibition in Brisbane today to urge the Coalition to stop siding only with business on penalty rates - there are two sides to the story. Ms Kearney said the multi-billion dollar attack on people's wages would not only be…
Holden workers have voted to back the industry they love - it's now time for the Coalition to end the uncertainty over the auto industry's future by committing to the co-investment it needs, the ACTU said today. ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said Holden workers had taken a tough decision to…
Call to action for young people: Vote for your penalty rates
12 August 2013
The ACTU and ASU urges young people feeling disenfranchised by federal politics to think about what's at stake for them this election. "If you're not going to vote for anything else, vote for your penalty rates," ACTU president Ged Kearney said. The close of rolls deadline for the 2013 federal…
ACTU launch election tour in Western Sydney today by demanding the Coalition commit to taking penalty rates off the chopping board
08 August 2013
ACTU President Ged Kearney will launch her election tour today by visiting Liverpool Hospital to speak with health workers and then later will join young workers gathering at Parramatta Train Station as part of the Penalty Rates Day of Action. "Tony Abbott and the Coalition must come clean to the…
Now that the federal election has been announced, you have only until 8pm on 12 August to ensure you are enrolled to vote. Why do you need to vote? Because your vote really does count, especially at this election. With 1.4 million people not enrolled according to the Australian Electoral…
Company tax cut shouldn’t come at expense of workers
07 August 2013
Unions fear the $5 billion company tax cut promised by the Coalition today will come at the expense of workers through an increased GST or savage cuts to services, the ACTU said today. "The Coalition's plan for the economy seems to begin and end with boosting the profits of Australian…