The University has made clear that it intends to carry out restructuring which will see workers across the University made redundant, and has made no promises to retain casual and fixed-term staff, hundreds of whom have already lost their jobs. Senior management have not made the case that any of these job cuts are necessary and should open up their books so that the university community can see the real extent of the financial crisis. This is key information that staff and union representatives need in order to fully assess any change plans proposed by the University.

Will you join the fight to save hospitality jobs before it’s too late? Join us today and add your voice as we call on the Morrison Government to protect hospo jobs and provide a secure income by: 1. Immediately extending JobKeeper until hospitality gets back on its feet 2. Expanding JobKeeper to ALL hospitality workers regardless of employment or visa status. 3. Lifting the rate of JobSeeker so that those that who lose their jobs aren’t forced into poverty while finding another job JOIN YOUR CAMPAIGN TODAY TO PROTECT & REBUILD HOSPO!

For years the Liberal Government has been cosy with the banks and their super funds. Scott Morrison voted against a Banking Royal Commission 26 times. But when we finally got one, it showed the truth: bank-owned corporate super funds gouge the life savings of working people to line their executives’ pockets. They charged fees to the dead, duped people into whittling away their life savings, and broke the law thousands of times. Now, the Morrison Government has just passed new super laws that will leave many workers and their families significantly worse off in retirement. The proposals are called Your Future, Your Super. We’re calling it Your Future, Bank Super. Because these laws are designed to funnel as much money as possible to corporate bank-aligned super funds. The laws will: - Pin three million workers to dud funds, potentially for life - Make it harder for workers in high-risk industries to get adequate insurance - Exclude a whole bunch of poor performing corporate products from performance testing, and - Put profits paid out to bank shareholders on the same level as your financial interests. In effect, these laws will be a free-kick to the banks. Let the Morrison Government know that they will not get away with this attack on your retirement.

The Social and Community Services sector is growing and will be vital to supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community in the COVID recovery and as we enter a recession. The sector relies on a pipeline of Social Work and related degree graduates to fill critical roles in its workforce. The workforce is predominantly a female workforce and low-paid. Already, there are workforce shortages in this essential sector. The Government’s proposed fee increases in Social Work and related fields will only further exacerbate these workforce shortages – in both recruitment and retention – that exist in this critical sector. It will disproportionately impact women who work in this sector, creating barriers for both entry and career advancement. The Government’s proposed fee increases for these degrees also overlooks recent State and Commonwealth Government initiatives or inquiries that have set or recommended minimum degree standards for employment in the social assistance sector.

Affected workers desperately need adequate financial support from the Government, particularly those who work in the hardest hit sectors of hospitality, retail and aviation. These lockdowns are a direct result of the failures of the Morrison Government, and while the vaccine rollout continues to flounder there will be millions of workers who will need support. Without proper financial support, workers are left without money to get by, and they won't be able to spend in their local communities. Denying workers JobKeeper isn't just cruel, it's also bad economics. Scott Morrison must urgently reinstate JobKeeper. Workers need financial support they can rely on.

The Australian Education Union understands the importance of TAFE and the education services it offers. TAFE can provide not only education but also opportunity and purpose. TAFE has helped countless apprentices learn their trade, helped immigrants settle into new communities, helped locals advance their careers, helped school leavers find a pathway to employment or further education and offered a fresh start to people who have lost their job. As Victoria looks to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, TAFE can play a crucial role in helping those that have lost their job to upskill or learn a new craft so they can move into new roles. Unfortunately, the current financial state of TAFEs means these important institutions and the passionate educators that drive them face an uncertain future. We need the Victorian Government to step in and guarantee that TAFEs will survive the pandemic. We need to save TAFE once and for all.

The billion-dollar pub empire run by Justin Hemmes uses a sophisticated system that records every single hour of unpaid work and stolen wages. These records have been provided to media and the courts. Workers have told of the toll this took on their lives, with one saying he “felt like a slave”. Another chef became so physically unwell from the long hours that his doctor ordered him to stop working. Chefs, kitchen hands, waiters, and many others have been ripped off. But with the economy in recession, Liberal Government Treasurers turned to Justin Hemmes for advice. Justin hemmes - the man who got rich from wage theft - should be kicked off the Government's business advisory board immediately.

After 12 months of drought, floods, fires and pandemic our community services are needed more than ever. We cannot afford a cut to our sector, we cannot go backwards. We are busier and working harder than ever. The sector has been agile, resourceful, and dedicated. Our services support the most vulnerable members of the community – and in extremely challenging times we have been there for the community. If services do not receive sufficient funding indexation urgently it will have a detrimental impact on their ability to deliver services to the community. We can't afford to be overlooked again.

Changes like these may end up oversaturating the job market in areas such as nursing, where even more students will be left without a job when they graduate. Lowering the cost of tertiary education for some shouldn't come at the cost of access to others - particularly when a fee increase will disproportionately affect low SES and first in family students. For some students, studying maths or science degrees just isn't an option for them due to where they live, their secondary education or physical inaccessibility of STEMM courses. To make them pay more because of reasons out of their control isn't just unfair - it's discriminatory.

The Morrison government's announcement that it will double fees for a series of humanities degrees is one of the worst attacks on students in recent times. Law, economics, management and commerce subjects will face fee hikes that means students could be charged up to $72,500 for a 5 year degree such as Law. The cost of a humanities or communication degree will be more than doubled - increasing by 113% to $14,500 a year. A three year arts degree will now cost approx. $45,000. This is essentially an attempt to abolish the humanities as a serious discipline, and instead restrict its accessibility to only wealthy students. This fee increase deliberately prioritises economically profitable degrees, while decreasing the accessibility of degrees designed to encourage critical thinking about society. Our education should not be subordinate to the needs of industry. The government wants to divide us by granting fee reductions to other students. We reject a two-tiered fee system that attempts to force students into studying what the government deems more important. Students should have the right to study what they want. Cost should never be a barrier when deciding what to study at university, or even if you want to study at all. We need free, fully funded public education, not a user pay model that prioritises particular disciplines or degrees. We are demanding that the government to scrap the proposed fee increases for university degrees. Written by Jazz Breen & Jack Mansell, Sydney University SRC Education Officers

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on ASU members who work for airlines or in ground handling. It is clear that it will take airlines longer to bounce back than other parts of the economy, and it is unlikely that people will resume interstate and international travel at the pre-COVID-19 rates for some time. The Government is planning its next steps for the economic recovery right now, and we need to take urgent action to ensure that they back Australian aviation workers.

On Monday 25 May, our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin, advised Deakin staff that you, our University Council, had endorsed a Restructure/Reshaping Process due to the financial impact of COVID-19. We were advised that Phase 1 of this process would commence within the week. Staff were advised of a proposed immediate reduction of around 400 positions. Professor Martin noted that the Restructure/Reshaping process was in fact endorsed by Council twice – on 7 May, and again on 21 May. We are writing to demand that the Council call a halt to the Phase 1 process and consult with Deakin staff - with full financial disclosure - on how they believe the University can best respond to the current financial crisis. Deakin is a public university so we call on all members of the Deakin community - staff, students, alumni, members of the communities in which Deakin resides and serves, to support staff in calling on University Council to halt to the Phase 1 process.