The Covid-19 Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment has been cut despite workers still being required to isolate if they test positive. Case numbers are rising and new variants emerging. Now is not the time to turn off paid pandemic leave. This is the wrong decision. Pandemic leave is what workers need to keep the community safe. The Federal Government must make sure workers are supported to isolate and keep themselves and the community safe. If governments are asking people to isolate to keep the community safe then we need to ensure that they are supported to do that. No one should be forced to make the impossible choice between doing the right thing and paying the bills. The Federal Government should not ignore the lessons that we have learnt since the start of the pandemic. They should reverse this decision and continue to support working people during this ongoing crisis.

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.

Health workers are the backbone of the Victorian health system during this COVID pandemic. They are overworked. Their workplaces are chronically understaffed. The hard work of Victoria's private health workers deserves to be recognised with a $3000 payment. So let's send a strong message to ALL Victorian private health employers. Sign this HWU petition to voice your support for all private health workers to receive a $3000 Winter Surge and Retention Payment from their employer.

Kiama Municipal Council are proposing to sell Blue Haven Care, its aged care facility and independent living units. The original decision was made without any community consultation, and rather than rebuilding the asset that creates profit for the community some in the council seek to sell the asset off. This would lead to the loss of half the council’s employees and an insecure residential environment for close to 400 elderly residents. This action is deplorable and we seek the intervention of the State and Federal governments to ensure the service remains viable and in public hands and that financial assistance is provided to enable the ongoing viability of the service. Further, this petition also seeks that Kiama Municipal Council not take any action that could lead to the sale of Blue Haven Care without first engaging in a formal process of community consultation so the views of the public are heard.

Staffing is so stretched in Mildura that Ambulance Victoria has been flying paramedics from Melbourne into Mildura to respond to emergencies. More and more community members are complaining that they are unable to receive an ambulance when they are in need. This means community members are needlessly suffering because of Ambulance Victoria's understaffing issue. “Nightshifts are the worst…we simply don’t have enough ambulances at night.” – Mildura Paramedic Increasingly, Paramedic Crews from Ouyen and Robinvale are being sent to Mildura to assist with workload, leaving the towns uncovered for dangerously long periods of time. It's not unusual for patients to wait extraordinary amounts of time for an ambulance in Ouyen and Robinvale. Paramedic crews are also being split and having to respond in unequipped ambulances just to meet service demands which is risky for patients and paramedics alike. “I'm exhausted from the workload… we just can’t keep up.” – Mildura Paramedic When our healthcare workers are fatigued, overworked and split up, they are at risk of making clinical errors. The Mildura community deserves to receive timely emergency care from paramedics who are not stretched to their limits.

Nursing staff at Regis Aged Care have expressed through recent rallies that management’s proposed Enterprise Agreement is an insult, and strips away many of our hard-fought working conditions. Regis nursing staff already get paid less than other providers, yet management’s proposed wage increases – just 1% for some, and 2% for others – are cuts in real wages of more than 3 to 4%, given the recent 5.1% increase in cost of living. Adding to this insult, management wants to cut so many of our working conditions and refuses to address understaffing and excessive workloads. We work so hard to care for our residents in extremely difficult circumstances. The least management can do is treat us with respect by providing fair wages and conditions. If management don’t significantly improve their offer, the majority of staff are likely to vote NO to the proposed Enterprise Agreement.

In Victoria, the largely unregulated private rehabilitation services mean that working people are often confronted with re-mortgaging their house, taking out loans, or withdrawing their superannuation to pay for services that can cost up to $30,000 per month. Victoria’s rehabilitation system is mostly inaccessible for working people, as most stays are between 3 months and 12 months. In Australia it takes an average of 20 years for a person to seek assistance for addiction due to shame and stigma and this is a trend that is appearing across all shop floors and all industries across the State It’s clear that the current system of treatment isn’t working and requires fresh ideas and methodologies for providing suitable treatment to working people and their families and funding models that work both for patients, employers and the government. We are proposing a tri-partisan collaboration with Odyssey House for a 28-day inpatient treatment facility funded and owned by the trade union movement after an initial investment from the Andrews’ Labor Government coupled with the establishment of an outreach and outpatient service, inclusive of toolbox talks for delegates, health and safety representatives, organisers and working people from all sectors with the support of trade unions, employers and the government. We need innovative, sophisticated solutions to complex issues such as addiction. We know that we have the most cost-effective, fit-for-purpose model for working Victorians to ease the burden on our already overcrowded healthcare system. Workplace support and early intervention are crucial in supporting workers combating addiction and mental health struggles. The opening of The Crossing will change the lives of workers struggling with addiction — as well as those of their families, their workmates, and their community.

BN Multi need to hear it from their consumers that their multivitamin chews product needs a revamp that is more appealing to bariatrics. This will make taking vitamins for bariatrics, especially in early stages post-op, to have their vitamin intake without waiting till later stages of their journey where most will just wait till they can take capsules.

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.

These nurses and carers love caring for their residents, but they have been stretched to breaking point by heavy workloads, poor wages and tough working conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic they have gone above and beyond to keep their residents safe, working double shifts of up to 16 hours, working through their lunch breaks, and often working short staffed. We care about the quality of aged care in Queensland and we call on Arcare management to give their hard-working nurses and carers a fair pay rise.

These proposed laws seek to entrench discrimination and vilification of LGBTQ people, as well as women, people with disabilities, and single parents, on the pretext of religious freedom. The bill will: 1. Override state laws to allow any person making a ‘statement of belief’ to discriminate against queer people, women, and people with disabilities. 2. Allow religious schools to discriminate at the point of enrolment against queer students, and continue to discipline and fire queer teachers - under the guise of 'religious freedom'. 3. Prevent public health services from ensuring patients aren’t discriminated against by health practitioners exercising ‘religious freedom’. 4. Prevent universities from requiring students to meet professional standards if they object to them on religious grounds Federal Labor has made only the mildest of technical recommendations to reform the current draft of the bill, failing to address some of the most damaging aspects of the legislation. As Labor members, we are asked to finance, volunteer for, and otherwise fight with our MPs for our rights as working people. Our party is failing to stand up for our values, and for vulnerable communities, by supporting this bill.

Australia's pharmacists were chronically underpaid before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, but with the added pressures brought by the health crisis, more are now burnt out than ever before with many opting to leave the profession. Until pay rates increase, the industry will struggle to retain and attract professionals, increasing the already significant skill shortage.