The ASU recently lodged a submission to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Natural Disaster Funding with a focus on alerting the Inquiry to the critical role local government plays in both preventing natural disasters and managing them when they do occur. ASU members working for councils are amongst the first…

Virgin staff across the country have been telling us that Virgin's decision to take back incorrectly credited annual leave isn't fair. We've heard you loud and clear, but Virgin still isn't listening. We think we should insist on keeping the leave, not the least because team members have been relying…

The Australian Council of Trade Unions today condemned the political attack on industry funds, and said that workers' retirement savings should be protected from the predatory and profit driven banking sector. ACTU Assistant Secretary, Tim Lyons said that media reports today that the Financial Services Inquiry would recommend changes to…

The Spark and Cannon EBA will expire on 21 April 2015 and bargaining will soon commence for a new agreement. The ASU is seeking to renegotiate your Agreement, update the terms and conditions and ensure wages at least keep pace with cost of living increases. UPDATE: Survey extended to 28…

This edition contains a summary of blog items published by Greg McLean in the previous calendar month. Items cover the areas of local government, energy and water, rail and public transport, international news including trade agreements, privatisation and general public sector matters.   The articles all relate to the blog…

Your Jetstar National Negotiating Team met with the company on 15th September 2014 and 21st October 2014 to see if we can get any closer to finalizing an agreement. The company continues to say that they want an 18 month pay freeze so that no pay rise would be payable…

Oxfam has just released a new report "Even it up: time to end extreme inequality". The report aligns very closely with PSI's analysis of inequality and we are happy to endorse it, because it sends a profound message about a social system where wealth increases massively but poverty and misery…

ASU delegates and officials met with Qantas Telephone Sales and HR management in Melbourne on 29th October 2014 for an update on the redeployment, redundancy and other issues arising from the closure of Brisbane and Melbourne Centres. As usual there were more questions than answers and disappointingly there is still…

Australian unions have enthusiastically welcomed today's commitment by the cross bench Senators to vote against the Abbott Government's unfair changes to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee. A delegation of workers who have recently been made redundant, accompanied by officials from the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and the Textile Clothing and…

Unions are pushing to give millions of Australian workers the right to access domestic violence leave. The ASU has been active and innovative on this front since 2010 when our Union won the first clause providing domestic violence leave in Australia. ACTU President Ged Kearney said paid domestic violence leave…