Rape culture in parliament threatens our involvement in the political process. Parliament, in its current state, lacks representation of oppressed gender groups. First Nations women, trans and gender diverse people are particularly underrepresented in our legal system. The endemic sexual abuse that is perpetrated in parliament threatens the paltry representation that oppressed gender groups have ascertained thusfar and makes it difficult for those marginalised groups to speak up against gendered violence and support victim surviours for fear of receiving their own workplace bullying, relocation or loss of livelihood. For too long we have worked within the system and compromised with the state on our bodily autonomy, our rights and our safety. We say enough. It’s time to End the Silence on Sexual Violence.

The Centrelink Age of Independence for Youth Allowance sits at 22. Young Australians can drink, smoke and drive at the age of 18 but are not considered independent. Even students moving out of home to attend university can be denied access to income support based on a parent or partner's income. For students in the higher education sector, the global pandemic has meant that students are more vulnerable and poorer than ever before. Students are the victims of the casualised workforce, penalty rate cuts and the shutdown of industries predominantly worked in by young people due to COVID-19. With funding provided by Universities drying up and the Federal Government income support being reconsidered, anyone can see the impending impact on young people. . The health crisis isn’t over and the economic crisis certainly isn’t over. We should be ensuring that Australia’s future is well protected by investing in young people to be able to live and study and not sending them through the cracks of our welfare system to potential lifetimes of poverty. We need to fund our future. A liveable wage is essential so students are not skipping meals, going without medication, sleeping rough or couch surfing. Recognising that young people are independents from the age of 18 and the current age of independence makes life incredibly difficult in unstable households and for queer youth. The Government must act to ensure that means testing is genuine and that we keep students out of poverty. Grace Franco National Union of Students (NUS) Welfare Officer Bailey Riley NUS President

Rail companies already have an extensive amount of data available (data Logger/Event recorders, Driver Advice Systems, radio voice recordings, and forward-facing camera) for investigation, compliance and assessments. Adding surveillance inside the cabin of locomotives will not prevent an incident from happening. Better training, support and a “no blame” culture will. We believe that the extended use of in-cab recording devices will have little if any impact on the efficacy of rail safety investigations and will have a significant detrimental effect on the mental health of Traincrew.

Employers in every industry commit wage theft. Whether it’s stolen super, unpaid hours, penalty rates or overtime, if you show up, they should pay up. Wage theft has become a business model – where the fines for stealing are less than the wages stolen! Without change to the law, employers will keep thieving over and over. Currently, workers only have protection in Queensland and Victoria. All Australian workers should be protected from thieving bosses.

The WA FIFO Code of Practice clearly lists communication as a critical factor in maintaining the health and wellbeing of FIFO workers. Section 5.5 of the Code states: Access to reliable communications infrastructure is an important factor for managing the impact of remote and isolated work on mental health and wellbeing. Allowing contact with personal networks helps fulfil home-life roles and responsibilities, meet social needs and facilitate the transition between home and work. Where practicable and in line with site requirements, there should be flexibility for workers to contact family and friends during the working day. Where mobile phone coverage is unreliable or inadequate, alternative communication channels (e.g. satellite internet) should be available for personal use and able to cope with periods of high demand.

So far this year Swinburne Council have; 1. embarked on a mass voluntary redundancy round that was not needed while taking on millions of dollars in debt to fund the redundancies – debt the union says the university will be continuing to pay off well after the Covid-19 crisis has passed. 2. Started another University wide sacking, sorry as Pascale says 'optimisation opportunity', while trying to tell NTEU they don't have to consult with anyone about that (yes we have put Swinburne in formal dispute) 3. Make big cuts to STEM while publicly announcing they want to be STEM focused. This includes cutting the only public health program in Victoria that teaches research and responses to pandemics. We urge all NTEU members and university staff to sign this petition in solidarity with Swinburne colleagues and to #defendhighered

About 2 years ago, workers at the Coles Smeaton Grange warehouse were told that their workplace would be shut down by 2023 to make room for automation. The news was devastating to workers & their families who are now unsure about what the future holds. This year, United Workers Union members have been negotiating a new collective agreement with Coles. Members are fighting for: - A fair redundancy package that will compensate them for many years of hard work & recognise the difficulty in finding new work due to the pandemic; - The right to transfer to the new automated Coles warehouse without loss of wages; - Job security for long term casual workers who will otherwise walk away with nothing. During the pandemic, Coles supermarket sales have soared by 6.9% & earnings have increased by 10.7%. On top of this, the Coles CEO Steven Cain’s remuneration package increased by 28.9% to more than $7 Million dollars in 2020! Now it's time for cashed up Coles to share their profits with the workers that created them!

We demand this company to clean up its act. Watsons Bay Hotel charges guests more than $800 a night for their hotel rooms, while they steal wages from some of Australia’s most vulnerable workers. This exploitation must stop. We are calling on management from Watsons Bay Hotel to meet with workers and our union and explain how they’ll pay back ALL our stolen wages and treat their workers with respect. Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is just one of nine venues owned by the Sydney Collective hospitality group, and workers say wage theft is happening across the company. We need accountability at ALL their venues, including The Imperial in Erskineville, Northies Hotel in Cronulla, The Morrison and The Republic Hotel in central Sydney, Daniel San in Manly, the Park House in Mona Vale and Balcony Oyster Bar in Byron Bay and their new venue at Circular Quay. + + + Brought to you by Hospo Voice - Your Hospitality Union. Powered by United Workers Union.

Please join us by signing this petition to remind federal MPs that our voices matter and our votes count. According to ABS statistics, as of December 2019 Australia’s total population was 25,522,169 people – as of July 2020, 5,854,105 were in receipt of a social security payment (2,556,017 age pensioners; 1,614,412 unemployed; 1,048,453 disabled people and carers; 335,455 parents; 299,768 students and trainees). As of 2020 the base rates of all social security payments are below the poverty line, leading to personal hardship, deprivation and homelessness, as well as having a negative impact upon the economy. Australia is a party to seven core international human rights treaties, including article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),9 yet is failing to ensure its citizens have the means to access essential health care, housing and food. To find out more information about what the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is all about or to become a member visit auwu.org.au

It is even more important because the pandemic has impacted the earnings of households. Unemployment due to COVID has increased in our community and this means working families are more in need than ever before to meet their basic needs like putting food on the table and cannot afford their escalating rate bills.

In 2018, the University's annual revenue was $2.53 billion. Vice Chancellor Michael Spence has a yearly salary of $1.53 million. Sydney University is one of Australia's wealthiest institutions. Tutors, lecturers and professional staff are essential to the learning experience for students, and a 30% reduction will mean larger tutorials, overworked tutors, and less responsive student services. Students are already facing the prospect of massively increased university fees, with humanities degrees set to more than double in price, to $14,500 per year. For staff, the threat of unemployment means the possibility of being forced onto the already insufficient JobSeeker payment, due to be reduced to only $810 a fortnight from September. It is unconscionable that staff and students should bear the brunt of the University's funding crisis. We demand No Cuts!

This is part of a series of attacks against staff and student from both the Liberal government and university management. Courses are getting slashed while the price of education is increasing. Social work students under current liberal plans will also see the cost of their degrees double in 2021. The University of Sydney is one of the richest universities in the country and Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence sits on a million-dollar yearly salary. Management can easily afford to fund the School of Education and Social Work, but they're only concerned about their profits. We need to fight back against all attacks against our education! If you want to join the campaign, join the USYD Education Action Group and join the organising group for Education and Social Work students https://www.facebook.com/groups/1267400043595226/. Join the National Day of Action on August 28 to fight for our education! https://www.facebook.com/events/281188686290641/