Our third EBA meeting with Qantas on 30th March 2016 gave your National Negotiating Team (NNT) the opportunity to provide the company with more of our detailed claims. We talked about: Better duty travel and training provisions Improving staff travel Reclassifications Better rostering and the need for more staff We…

The Australian unions are calling for a $30 a week increase in the minimum wage to $686.90 per week or $18.08 per hour. In its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review, the ACTU sees minimum wage levels which are still stubbornly low at 43.8 per cent of…

Around Australia this Easter weekend, millions will be taking a break and many will spend time with family and friends. Whether Easter itself means something religious or philosophical to you or not, everyone understands the importance of rest and spending time with loved ones. However, a very large number of…

The ACTU and unions welcome the findings of the Senate report into temporary working visas released last week, which suggests tightening up the scheme. Unions are especially supportive of measures that prevent local workers being replaced by 457 workers, and require employers taking on 457 visa workers, to also take…

The ASU lodged a submission to the ABCC Senate Inquiry into the Federal Bill to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). It is not widely known but the ABCC also touches large numbers of ASU members, so our concerns are very directly about advocating for our members’ rights.…

Following the 2015 Budget the Federal Government introduced new legislation to enact its “Jobs for Families Package”. Although there’s an injection of much needed funding into child care, it’s based on cuts to other family benefits. The ASU’s position has been that it takes more than one policy to help…

On March 10, 2016 our second EBA meeting with Qantas management kicked off with the presentation of many of our detailed claims for EBA 11. For over 3 hours your National Negotiating team (NNT) went to the nitty gritty of the claims that you want to achieve in any new…

The ACTU Executive yesterday endorsed an agenda of tax reform priorities designed to tackle growing inequality and unfairness in our economic system and help create better, higher-paying jobs. The plan, Tax reform for a fairer society and strong economy, calls for action in five key areas of tax reform: reducing…

To mark International Women's Day 2016 tomorrow, we invite both ASU members and non-members, women and men, to pledge to combat gender inequality at work. A recent report from RMIT University has shone a spotlight on research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that argues promoting gender equality in society…

A new report released by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) today (7 March 2016) reveals that Australian women are financially disadvantaged at every key stage of their life: in childhood, at the workplace, through pregnancy, motherhood and as a carer, and in retirement. The ACTU’s Gender Pay Gap…