Good housing standards and support to upgrade homes means cheaper bills, and healthier families.  For $1 saved on energy bills from insulating and properly heating a home, more than $10 is saved within the healthcare system.  Better thermal comfort and less mould in homes leads to fewer GP visits, fewer pharmaceuticals dispensed, and reduced hospital admissions for respiratory and mental health issues. The Federal Liberal Party has made it clear they would rather working families live in poor quality housing than maintain minimum housing standards.  Victorian Liberal Leader Jess Wilson needs to come clean about where she stands – with working Victorians, or with the landlords in the Liberal Party?

Currently, Arts Centre Melbourne union members are fighting for a fair pay deal. This is the first time ACM staff have ever taken industrial action.   Industrial action is never taken lightly, but ACM staff have been left with no other choice.   A fair deal is possible!   We ask for your support so that ACM staff can continue to deliver world-class performances to Victorians. 

The State Electricity Commission (SEC) is Victoria’s publicly owned energy provider, and we want it to do more! After years of campaigning, the union movement convinced the Labor State Government to bring the SEC back, after Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett privatised it in 1994. We want the SEC to deliver cheaper bills by building more renewables, support households to electrify, train the next generation of energy workers, and keep energy profits here in Victoria. More state investment in the SEC will drive down our energy bills, deliver more jobs and give young people a future in the trades through apprenticeship programs. The SEC is about building the clean energy system Victoria needs: owned by the people, run for the people, and delivering for the people.  

Right now Australia is missing out on the full benefits of a domestic decommissioning industry. Oil and gas giants are attempting to shirk their responsibility for full decommissioning, dumping tonnes of degrading pipelines, concrete and steel off Australia's coast. Australia has the capability to safely dismantle oil and gas infrastructure here, but instead companies are towing this infrastructure overseas, and then returning the hazardous waste back to Australia. In other words, the jobs and valuable industrial materials go offshore and we get the waste.  We call on State and Federal Governments to close loopholes that allow oil and gas giants to dump waste and deny jobs to Australians. 

This is not about the businesses who are trying to do the right thing. It’s about making the playing field level so that good businesses aren’t being undercut by bad faith actors operating in these spaces.   Too often, these operators profit through wage theft, sham contracting, phoenixing and other forms of exploitation, leaving workers out of pocket while honest employers struggle to compete against businesses that cut corners and ignore the law.  Labour hire licensing is a proven reform that helps stop dodgy operators from entering the market and holds providers accountable when they fail to meet their obligations. A licensing scheme creates a fairer playing field by ensuring labour hire providers meet minimum standards and comply with workplace, taxation and safety laws.  It also helps crack down on tax avoidance and phoenixing, protecting public revenue and ensuring businesses contribute their fair share to the services and infrastructure we all rely on.  Honest labour hire providers, employers and workers all benefit when everyone is required to meet the same standards and compete on a level playing field.  We, the undersigned, call on the NSW Government to introduce a comprehensive labour hire licensing scheme that ensures every labour hire provider is licensed, accountable and playing by the same rules.  No licence. No labour hire. 

One Nation say they are the party of workers, but their actions say differently. Time and time again Pauline Hanson and One Nation have voted against our rights at work. She’s voted against: • Same Job, Same Pay laws • The Right to Disconnect • Letting workers openly discuss their pay • Making industrial manslaughter a criminal offence Just last month she publicly opposed a pay rise above inflation for the lowest paid Australian workers on the minimum wage.   The union movement will not let Pauline and One Nation hijack workers’ genuine cost-of-living concerns to erase our hard-fought workplace protections and make it harder for Australians to get by.   Hands off our rights at work One Nation.

Safety In recent years, Wyndham has seen a rise in violent crime. An unstaffed library could provide an easy place for criminal activity to occur. Few safety guarantees are being made about unstaffed hours. These safety issues mean that women, families and anyone vulnerable to racial, homophobic, transphobic or ableist violence may be uncomfortable accessing the library when it is unstaffed. People living with disabilities may not be able to access the space due to rules that prevent their carers visiting with them unless they have a membership as well. With no staff to help in a violent incident or medical emergency there is no guarantee the library is a safe place. Would you trust an empty library, late at night to be safe? Would you be happy to rely on the police or ambulance to arrive in time to help you if something terrible did occur while you were visiting an unstaffed library? Fairness Libraries are funded by your rates and tax dollars and are currently available to everybody during opening hours. By design, unstaffed library hours will not be accessible to all. We want increased library services for all. Not just access for a few! Using the library during unstaffed hours requires a separate membership restricted by age and vague criteria such as confidence using the library independently. Additionally, unstaffed hours will not be available at every library branch – if your local branch does not offer extended hours, you’re out of luck. Membership is not guaranteed upon application and can be blocked for any reason. It requires an induction process and agreement to a separate set of terms and conditions. No guidelines have been provided to prevent discrimination or bias in the selection process. Accessing the library during unstaffed hours may be unavailable to you if: • You are deemed not to meet the membership criteria. • You cannot find time to sit through a lengthy induction during staffed operating hours. • You require any assistance using the library. • Not every library branch will have unstaffed hours so one neighbourhood will have better access than others. Introducing unstaffed hours does not address existing geographic gaps in service within Wyndham or community demand for services requiring staff, such as weekend or evening programming and may be used as an excuse not to ever provide these services in the future. There is a great risk that this project will only benefit a small number of people and you may not be one of them! Is that fair and equitable access? Does it seem like a good use of your rates and tax money? Cheaper, lower quality service Unstaffed library hours are being pitched as an enhancement to existing library services at a fraction of the cost compared to extending staffed hours of service, opening new branches or extending outreach services. But as well as serving a narrower section of the community, the proposal explicitly provides a lower quality of service. During unstaffed hours, the library will not provide: • IT or equipment support. • Assistance dealing with library account issues. • Assistance with any issues accessing the library using your Open Libraries membership. • Access to collection items kept behind the library desk. • Library programs or events. • In-person support in the event of an emergency. Libraries in the future Your libraries are currently staffed for all opening hours and librarians spend all day helping people. One concern industry experts have about unstaffed hours is the potential damage to our industry and what libraries can offer our communities in the future. If politicians begin to believe that libraries don’t need librarians, it’s only a matter of time before staffed services are reduced in the name of cost-saving. After the UK introduced unstaffed hours, over 50% of librarians were replaced with unqualified volunteers – or nothing at all. If you love musical and literacy programs for your children, study assistance for your teenagers and IT help for those of us who find advancing technology challenging to keep up with, don’t let your libraries become just a building with books inside.  You deserve a library that has librarians in it – for every hour we are open. Please sign our petition and/or write to your local councillor to show your support for the people who support you. You can write your own email or use this template: Dear (Councillor’s name) I am writing to express my concern about the proposed Open Libraries project at Wyndham City Council.  My concerns are (include your main concerns here) and I believe that without community consultation there is no evidence that this will be a responsible use of the council budget.  I urge you to listen to your constituents and not support this project moving forward. Signed, Your name • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected]

After a year of negotiating in good faith, union members at Parks Victoria are taking action. They have repeatedly asked to be treated the same as any other public sector workers - but management aren't listening. They think that workers should be happy with the latest offer, which does nothing to address the reasonable requests of the workforce and would lock in insufficient wages and conditions for another generation of workers. For too long, public sector workers at Parks Victoria have been underpaid and overworked. For nearly 15 years, the hard working rangers, environmental scientists, and administrators of Parks Victoria have been held back by wages and conditions that are below other public sector workers. These are the people who manage the state’s extensive public lands, parks, and reserves, and ensure our natural environment is protected for generations of Victorians to enjoy. Crucially, these workers are also expected to provide essential firefighting and emergency response capability, working as an integrated part with other agencies in times of crisis; often operating in the worst conditions in some of the most remote regions in Victoria. These workers are the first responders in natural disasters, but last in line for public sector wages. By supporting this petition, you’re helping protect the workers who protect our natural environment.

Parking and transport at Curtin are a serious barrier to students accessing their education. Students are spending up to an hour circling campus looking for parking, paying for more expensive bays, arriving late to class, and struggling to absorb rising costs during a cost of living crisis. Students should not be priced out of attending university because they cannot afford fuel, parking or the time it takes to fight for a car bay every morning. These are practical and achievable solutions. Other universities have already implemented measures like free carpool parking. Instead, Curtin students are being told to wait while simple proposals are bogged down in bureaucracy. The only thing stopping these solutions is the willingness of senior leaders to take this issue seriously. Students are doing everything they can to keep showing up during a cost of living crisis. Curtin must do more to support them.

This week marks 170 years since the Melbourne University Stonemasons won the first 8 hour day in the world in Melbourne, Victoria. Since then, we have seen the invention of the telephone, the light bulb, the automobile, radio, airplanes, television, computers, the internet, and now generative AI. Yet workers still work the same amount of hours, often more, and the Top-end-of-town reap all the rewards. Australia led the world for workers' rights winning the 8 hour day. It's time to do it again. It's time for a Four Day Work Week.

In the middle of yet another global crisis disrupting supply chains, this is our moment to secure NSW’s future – because when overseas supply chains fail, it’s local workers and communities who pay the price. Public money should back local industry - creating secure jobs, strengthening communities and building a more resilient NSW. A Jobs First Commission would make sure government spending backs NSW first - supporting workers, strengthening local businesses, and protecting our state in uncertain times. Sign the petition today to call on the NSW Government to establish a Jobs First Commission that will: 1. Invest in local manufacturing and expand NSW domestic capacity  2. Build stronger, more resilient supply chains to protect our state in times of uncertainty  3. Prioritise safe, secure, and well-paid jobs for NSW workers

Housing costs are one of the biggest pressures facing working people. They affect where we can live, how far we have to commute, and whether we can get ahead. Union members are raising their voices to demand change because housing affordability won’t improve on its own. By coming together, workers can push for real reforms and make housing fairer. Sign the petition today if you agree the Federal Government must: 1. Create a fairer tax system for housing – reform negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions so home ownership is supported over investment for profit. 2. Invest in more public and affordable housing – commit to long-term, large-scale investment so more people can access secure homes.