The USU/ASU has welcomed the most recent decision by Fair Work Commission which re-affirms the Commission's original decision to disallow an employer from conducting on-site urine testing on its employees for the detection of drugs. The employer Endeavour Energy had initiated the most recent case in an attempt to get…

DAVOS, Switzerland — Philip Jennings, a union leader from working-class Wales, has been coming to this Alpine ski resort for two decades to rub shoulders with the bosses of the world. His message has not changed. You can read this article on the UNI website here "The world needs a…

Make a submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry The Turnbull Government, before the recent election, set up a Productivity Commission Inquiry into how community services can be subject to increased “competition and contestability”. More detail on ASU members’ concerns with the proposals can be found here: Community services are not…

By becoming a member of the ASU you will join thousands of other Australians striving together to defend and advance our rights at work. Together we achieve much more than we do alone. We campaign together in our workplaces to reach the best possible agreements with employers. We defend individual…

Trade Minister Andrew Robb recently announced a free trade agreement with Korea which includes the right for foreign investors to sue our governments over Australian laws and policies. This undermines our national sovereignty and democracy, and would cost our governments millions of dollars. But the deal has not yet been…

Superannuation funds are increasingly flexing their muscle through considerations of ESG in investment decision making as a result of lobbying from trustees and members themselves (ESG refers to environmental, social and corporate governance issues). Tobacco companies are not the only ones seeing investors depart their firms as a result. Recently,…

Australian unions have negotiated a new service for union members: a budgeting tool brought to you for FREE called 'myprosperity' and it's available online now. You can access the free offer to union members via myprosperity.com.au/unions. The site is in Beta mode as new features will continue to be rolled…

Unions are concerned that ten years after asbestos was banned in Australia importation continues. ACTU Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick said the goal of making Australia asbestos free by 2030 was unlikely at this rate. "December 31 was the tenth anniversary of a ban on asbestos following clear and irrefutable evidence…

Unions welcome new laws that came into effect yesterday on 1 January 2014 that give bullied workers a way to solve stressful, damaging and sometimes deadly workplace bullying issues. ACTU Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick said unions have been fighting for these changes for over a decade. "We put bullying on…

The ACTU is urging the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program to focus on what can be done to increase safety for workers. ACTU Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick said the Royal Commission presented an opportunity to toughen workplace safety laws to help reduce the number of unnecessary injuries and…