The last few years during the pandemic have shown us what happens when Victorians don't have access to sick pay. Working as a casual in retail I couldn’t afford to cancel the few shifts I had. I’d often be forced to go in sick, because it was the difference between me paying my rent and not. This is why it's critical that the State Goverment ensures that all workers have access to sick pay and expand the industries covered by the guarantee.

Parking enforcers at Curtin University have a reputation for being highly efficient and predatory. If you don’t pay for parking, you will get fined—so why do people take the risk? The answer is they don’t. At the Bentley campus, the odds are stacked against you, and sometimes no matter what you do, you will get a fine. You’re invited to appeal them, but with a catch—if they reject the appeal they will reduce the amount of time you have to pay, leading to penalties being applied quicker. Is it worth the risk when few appeals are ever accepted? Curtin students pay thousands of dollars to study at this University, and it is often a requirement for their education that they come to campus. They are often getting by on Centrelink or working hard to stay above the poverty line. They are faced with a parking system that preys on them, takes every opportunity to make money off of them and refers them to debt collectors with the threat of further legal action, when they are struggling the most. Students are asking to be allowed to pay for parking, without the many barriers that the CellOPark app entails. 1. Phase out CellOPark. This app regularly charges users for premium service fees without permission, or logs them out of sessions, causing them to get fined. It is predatory and not user-friendly. 2. Reduce the cost of fines to $20. A $45 fine can be detrimental to students, especially when they are not at fault due to the CellOPark app. Curtin has absolute discretion over the cost of fines, and the deterrent does not need to be that high—Curtin University is using their captive audience, students, to raise as much revenue as possible. 3. Introduce a mixed PAYG/Permit system. A Pay As You Go system saves money for those who come to campus occasionally, but a permit system that discounts parking for purchasing for longer intervals is more equitable for students who need to attend campus more often, up to five days a week, for more intensive courses or as part of their studies

Our elected representatives need to have the ability to represent us, the members, free of harassment and the threat of disciplinary hanging over their heads like the hangman's noose. The actions displayed from Sydney Trains set a terrible precedent and will impede the movement's ability to bargain into the future due to workplace delegates being in fear of disciplinary action that can potentially impact their employment.

School cleaners have done everything asked of them during the pandemic to keep schools clean and healthy. But under the current contracting system they are underpaid and undervalued. In order to keep schools clean and safe cleaners need: • more time to do the job • decent equipment to do the job • a job they can count on • respect and fair pay This is why they should be directly employed by the State Government. Our children deserve Victorian Government cleaners.

Workers were only enacting overtime bans during the dispute in order to win a fair deal. But in response, the company took the extraordinary measure of locking workers out for multiple days without pay. When the company still didn’t address workers' concerns around personal leave, the workers took a day of strike action and now the company locked workers out again! We’re calling on the company to stop their unfair lockout immediately, allow workers to return to work, and address workers' concerns about personal leave - which they need to keep themselves and their families safe.

Australia has a cost-of-living crisis. CPI is rising at 5% per annum, and Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe says inflation could reach 7% by the end of 2022. Staff need a pay rise to keep up with rising food and petrol prices, rising interest rates, and rising rents. Melbourne faces an acute rental crisis. Some staff are having their rents hiked $50 or $100 a week. Monash staff moved mountains to keep the University operating through the pandemic -- voting for a pay freze in 2020-21 to help the University through. While the Vice-Chancellor takes home $1.3m a year, many Monash workers are low-income casual teachers, librarians, and adminstrative and laboratory staff. Now we need the University to do its bit. Monash University can afford a pay rise. Monash made a $416 million operating surplus in 2021. There is more than $800 million cash in the bank. Since 2019, the University has tallied $1 billion in supluses. Normally, staff would negotiate a pay rise through enterprise bargaining. The NTEU has been trying to negotiate, but Monash University refuses to talk. Monash University's Enterprise Agreement expired on June 30. Monash management have refused to open pay negotiations, despite repeated requests from the NTEU for months. Every fortnight that Monash refuses to negotiate is a fortnight where real wages go backwards. It's time for Margaret Gardner to step in, and give Monash University staff some cost of living relief.

Unions of nurses, teachers, paramedics, cleaners, transport workers, child protection workers and many more are saying their jobs and conditions are under immense stress. The NSW Government is ignoring their pleas for help. Workers have been left with little choice but to strike to force the government to listen. So the NSW Government has proposed fines of up to $110,000 for striking. It's unfair and undemocratic - workers will suffer in silence and their unions fined if they take action. But it can be stopped. The Liberals and National Government does not hold a majority in Parliament. If Labor, independents and just 3 minor parties team up they will have a majority to overturn the new fines. The vote is expected in early August - which means we have just a few weeks to act. Add your name to send a clear message to members of the NSW Parliament - you must use your vote to protect essential worker's rights.

Tasmania has a small fire service. It takes 3 years to train a First Class Firefighter and around 10 years to train and develop a Station Officer. With an aging workforce, TFS will struggle to retain enough Firefighters and Officers to maintain a functioning fire service for the Tasmanian Community. Whilst this is an emerging concern right now, low pay and conditions will accelerate this issue over the coming decade. If we wait to fix this, community service delivery will be compromised.

Cost of living keeps going up while wages and conditions are continually eroded away, people receiving government support are trying to get by with just $42 a day and living in poverty. The gap between wages for men and women is still around 22.8%. The dream of owning your own home has become out of reach for too many people with rentals also becoming more unaffordable, meaning the demand for public housing is increasing.

You should join this campaign if you love Australian music. It has been totally defunded. If you love Australia content on TV and Film then the $70 million cut must be reversed. If you live in the country you want the $10 million back. If you enjoy this festival, the Fringe Festival Rising, music festivals, the opera, theatre, museums, art galleries; any of these events you should demand Morrison puts the hundreds of millions back in the budget. Less submarines; more gigs.

A COVID-19 outbreak at Melbourne’s historic Mitre Tavern involving nine staff occurred after an infected customer had visited the pub. Workers allege that management failed to inform them they may have been exposed to the virus until after staff members began testing positive to COVID-19. At a Melbourne cafe with close to 100 staff, workers say the venue’s Christmas party on Monday 20 December may have acted as a super-spreader event. On Tuesday 21 December workers told the union their colleagues began testing positive and informed venue management. Workers then said the venue waited until Thursday 23 December to inform all staff that they may have been exposed, and advised them to get rapid tests and isolate if positive. The venue continued operating until Christmas Eve before closing for two weeks. Staff estimate at least 50 workers became infected across the days leading up to Christmas. Meanwhile in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, a hospitality worker at a bar/restaurant has reported being called in to work while isolating and awaiting the results of a PCR test. Management also failed to tell staff at the venue when their coworkers had become infected. Workers estimate that approximately 40% of venue staff ultimately became infected with COVID-19.

Luckily, in Scott Morrison we have a true champion of the super-yachting-community. Scott. Sco-Mo. Maaaate. What's a few million bucks of Australians' taxes between friends? Especially since you know we have your back at the next election.