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…

As a member of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), the ASU welcomes the re-launch of their website "Rail Careers". Already it has assisted thousands of people seeking careers in this sector and the updated website will only improve that service. From the ARA: ARA has launched a new and improved…

Recently, the way trade deals are negotiated has changed from WTO multilateral negotiations where hundreds of countries negotiated one agreement and information about negotiations was publically available, to hundreds of separate secret negotiations held behind closed doors. First published on the PSI website 1 August 2013 You can read this…

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…

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…

"It is good to be here again at the National Press Club and I appreciate the opportunity to outline what the union movement regards as the key issues for Australian workers at this year's federal election." Download the full speech here:  Ged Kearney speech at National Press Club, 7 August…

The ASU supports the Federal Government's announcement of additional child care help for parents using out of school hours care and is calling on councils to work with local schools to allow local government child care educators and carers to be part of the support mechanisms. "It makes sense to…

The ACTU is backing a call by Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten for a pre-election debate between the major parties on industrial relations policy. Minister Shorten today called on his Coalition counterpart Eric Abetz to come out of hiding and commit to a debate on workplace policy. "Working people absolutely…

With the announcement of the federal election on 7 September, plans for the referendum for the Constitutional recognition of local government have been put on hold. The referendum cannot be held at the same time as the 7 September election because the required notice period will not have elapsed. The…