Local Council jobs need protecting! In the past, job seekers looked for council jobs because they knew they were secure. People pursued careers in Local Government for career enhancement, working conditions and the job security. Now it seems like a never-ending cycle of Reviews, Restructures and Retrenchments. Councils lose expertise, service delivery suffers, staff become disillusioned, and high vacancy rates make the problem worse. Local Government Jobs, Worth Fighting For!

We are facing a critical moment in preserving the heart of our student community: our beloved student bars. The threat of these spaces being taken away from us and handed over to profit-driven private companies is real, and it's a cause for concern for all of us. First and foremost, student bars are more than just places to grab a drink; they are the beating heart of our campus culture. These spaces have been managed by our student union, the QUT Guild for over 30 years. By keeping our bars under Guild management, we ensure that they remain accessible, affordable, and inclusive for all students. But why should you care about who manages our student bars? Because it's about more than just where we go for a drink after class. It's about protecting our student voice and agency on campus. The University's decision to take away Guild services and businesses like graduation gowns, The General Store, and social sport has already diminished our sense of ownership and control over our own student experience. What's next? Will the University continue to chip away at the resources and spaces that make our student union strong? Think about it: if our student bars are handed over to private companies whose primary goal is to maximise profits, what happens to the values and priorities that matter to us as students? Will these companies prioritise student welfare and community building, or will they prioritise their bottom line? The University's actions raise serious questions about their commitment to a strong student union and a vibrant campus community. By taking away essential services and potentially handing over our student bars to external entities, the University is sending a message that they do not value the role of students in shaping our own campus experience. We cannot afford to stand idly by while our student union and the spaces that define our campus culture are under threat. It's time to stand up and demand that our voices be heard. We must rally together to protect our student bars, preserve our student union's autonomy, and ensure that our campus remains a vibrant and inclusive community for generations of QUT students to come. Join us in signing this petition to show the University that we care about our student bars and that we will not let them be taken away from us without a fight. Together, we can send a powerful message that the QUT student body stands united in defense of our student union and the values it represents. In solidarity, QUT Guild

It is unethical for the funds of UniSuper members to be invested in any companies which: • provide products or services that contribute to violent acts against civilians, Israeli or Palestinian; • profit from, or are complicit in, human rights abuses in Palestine; • provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance of the Israeli military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem; • provide products or services that contribute to the maintenance and construction of the Separation Wall and/or maintenance and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories; and/or • establish facilities or operations in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Commonwealth risks the health of vulnerable elderly Australians if ACAS is privatised. The model for ACAS is changing, with the first stage of the new Single Assessment System due to be implemented as of July 2024. The Commonwealth has decided to openly tender (meaning private providers can tender for the first time) for the provision of services to support the new system, while bilateral negotiations with states and territories still are ongoing, creating a lack of transparency and certainty regarding the future of the service. The Commonwealth is leaving frontline staff and patients in the dark as to how this model will operate. This risks good public sector jobs and patient safety. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety explicitly stated that assessments should be undertaken by assessors who are independent from approved providers. Allowing aged care providers to also conduct assessments directly contradicts the advice of the Commission and will potentially put profits before patients, with the end result potentially jeopardising patient care. Our members have experienced years of precarity and uncertainty regarding the future provision of aged care services, meaning many experienced Allied Health Professionals have already left the sector to ensure their own personal job security, while others fear for their role beyond 1 July 2024. This loss of collective knowledge and expertise could prove disastrous to ensuring that our elder Australians receive the best care in their later years. To prevent this, we demand that aged care assessment services remain in public hands, that good public sector jobs are safeguarded and that patient safety is put before profits.

Only 7% of community and disability workers told us that their wages are keeping pace with the cost-of-living. Every day, you make life better for the most vulnerable in our communities, and it's only right that your wages acknowledge the dignity and respect you extend to others. Your dedication ensures that support reaches the most in need. Yet, for too long, this skilled and essential work has been undervalued. Without a significant pay rise this year, the gap between wages of frontline workers and the cost of living will continue to widen. Last year, action led to significant wage increases. Now, as we approach this year's Annual Wage Review, your support is crucial. Together, we have the power to make a difference. You deserve a career that offers both respect and security, with wages that reflect your skills and dedication. Sign the petition now for a 5% pay rise. It’s time for wages that truly recognise the vital contribution you make every day. Community and disability workers deserve better. Stand with us for fair pay.

Everywhere you look, essentials like groceries, fuel, and housing prices just keep rising but our wages haven’t kept pace. Have you been feeling the squeeze? You're not alone. Our recent survey told us that 94% of workers in professional admin roles feel that their wages leave them behind in relation to the cost-of-living. Every worker deserves a job that provides not just for the present but also provides security for the future. Without a significant pay rise this year, we'll see wages slip even further behind. The Annual Wage Review is on the horizon, where wages for millions of Australian workers are determined. It’s the ONLY guaranteed wage increase in the economy. The ASU is standing up as your voice for better wages. It's through our collective strength as union members that we've seen real wins. Last year we secured an 8.6% increase for minimum wage workers and a 5.75% boost for those on Award wages. This year, it’s still just as important and your support is crucial. Together, we've proven we can make a difference. Union members typically earn up to 32% more than non-members, a testament to the power of collective action in negotiating better pay and conditions. Join us as we gear up for the 2024 Annual Wage Review. Sign the petition for a 5% pay rise now!

More than 60 per cent of doctors surveyed have reported making a clinical error due to exhaustion. Our doctors are fatigued, overworked, and suffering from stress and mental health problems. Overworked and underpaid healthcare staff leads to an unsafe and unsustainable healthcare system for both patients and the workers. Without proper support or work / life balance, many doctors in training are leaving the industry altogether. Victoria’s junior doctors are not asking for a pay rise - they are simply asking to be paid for hours they have already worked. Use the form to send a letter to Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas (Minister for Health), let the Victorian Government know that the wage theft from junior doctors needs to stop.

Hundreds of refugees are being threatened with a minimum of one year in prison if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to deport them, under a new bill introduced by Labor. This bill passing would mean refugees who don't cooperate with the government's attempt to deport them could be fined almost $100,000 and imprisoned. Labor have made this disgraceful move after the high court ruled it was illegal for the government to indefinitely detain refugees like this in Australia. If people on bridging visas, without visas, or in immigration detention fail to comply with a directions from the Immigration Minister to assist in their own deportation will be a criminal offence carrying a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison, a maximum of five years, a $93,900 fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. One of the refugees currently at the centre of this case is known as ASF17 - a bisexual Iranian man who the government are currently attempting to deport back to Iran, where he will face certain persecution and fears for his life. ASF17 has been held in indefinite immigration detention in PNG since he fled Iran to Australia in 2013. The government justifies his detention on the basis that he has refused to cooperate with Iranian authorities to receive the necessary travel documents to be deported. Now, ASF17 is at the centre of a legal case which will be heard by the high court in April, arguing that refugees in his position should be covered by last year's high court ruling declaring indefinite immigrant detention unlawful. The response of the Labor government has been to brutally double down on their anti-refugee politics. This is a disgrace - everyone fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries should be welcome here. We Demand: - STOP the Migration Amendment (removals and other measures) bill - Allow refugees in Australia without visas, or with any kind of temporary visa to have PERMANENT protection in Australia, without threat of deportation - END the racist cruelty of the Australian government toward refugees Petition Authored by the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQIA+ Department, Monash Student Association Queer Officers, and the Tamil Refugee Council

Australia is at an important juncture. It is long past time for the Federal Government and state/territory governments to work together to invest in and reform the early childhood education and care system, so that every child has a guarantee to the best start in life. When children attend preschool they can expect greater academic success, have better career prospects, better health outcomes and stronger family and personal relationships. Right now, access to two years of preschool is dependent on where you live. Because some states/territories are rolling this out, while others are not. Australia needs a national plan, so that all children around the country can access two years of high-quality public preschool, no matter where they live.

Every worker in Australia needs to be safe at work and earn reasonable wages - no exceptions. When workers bravely stand up against unfair and unsafe work practices, businesses should listen - not dismiss them! As fellow workers in transport, hospitality, and all other sectors, we commend Zhuoying's brave stand. We demand Hungry Panda reinstate her shifts and listen to the workers who have built the company's wealth!

Paramedics are currently bargaining with Ambulance Victoria and the Jacinta Allan Government for a new enterprise agreement. We are asking for improvements to wages, conditions, valuing MICA, better rural resourcing, and incentivising longevity in the job. But for many members, the most important claim is simply the ability to get home after the shift ends. Our members are forced to work hours of involuntary overtime every day, either because they are ramped at a hospital, or dispatched to a case minutes before the end of shift and sometimes after their rostered finish time. That may seem reasonable in an emergency and any ambo you ask will tell you they expect to work overtime when a patient urgently needs their skills. But our call taking system categorises people who call 000 because they couldn’t afford a GP as an EMERGENCY. Ambulance Victoria have trumpeted that an ambo workplace is an inclusive, family friendly workplace. But our members work over 800 hours of forced overtime every single day. This means that picking up kids, getting to a sporting game or parent teacher interview is not a commitment any ambo can make. Members are ignored when simply requesting an on-time finish. One member was dispatched to a non-urgent patient in a health facility three minutes before the end of shift. The paramedic pleaded with Ambulance Victoria management that she had to pick up a child from daycare but was refused. Another colleague had to go to the childcare centre to take care of the baby until the paramedic finished over an hour late. Recently Swinburne and RMIT surveyed Victorian Ambulance Union members and the number of ambos looking at leaving the job in the next year has climbed to one in five. That’s already in a workforce where over half the paramedics have been in the job for less than five years. This is not sustainable for the workforce, but sadly, that’s what happens when ambos are asked to choose between their job and their family. Ambos are dedicated to saving lives. Please support us by signing this petition and help ambos have a life too.

The NSW Crime Commission recently reported billions of dollars of dirty money are being laundered through NSW poker machines each year while pokies fuel a growing health crisis of addiction that is tearing families and communities apart. Working-class communities are the most heavily impacted by poker machine losses with adults in Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Cumberland LGAs in Western Sydney losing almost $3,000 each year to pokies. The gaming industry is relentlessly transferring wealth out of our communities and concentrating it into the hands of a few or sending it offshore through machines that are proven to be highly addictive. Add your name to send a clear message – NSW needs urgent pokies reform now.