It tastes ridiculous.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission report released on the 1st of August, over half of all students at UTas were sexually harassed in 2016, and 6.5% were sexually assaulted Of these students the vast majority did not seek help from the university, and 0% made a formal report about the incident. While the Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen has since come out to say sexual violence is “never OK,” we are yet to see the university take action on any specific incident, or commit implementing a system that offers any real support to students. What students need is not more slogans, or hollow campaigns, but fast and immediate action from the university that tells that they believe us, that it’s not our fault, and that we will have justice. Sign the petition and join the UTas Women’s Collective, and Tasmanian Young Labor members, as we call on the State Government and the University of Tasmania to to commit to implementing: A standard sexual assault reporting model which recognises the rule of law Clear penalties for perpetrators of sexual assault and violence And A full-time trauma informed counsellor that specialises in harassment and sexual violence.

Last night while another driver was being assaulted, instead of trying to improve their safety, our Lord Mayor was heading a smear campaign against them, stooping so low he's even using school children as a political tool. Physical assaults against Brisbane Transport Bus Drivers are reported once a week, and there's a verbal assault reported every day. Countless more go unreported. Three weeks ago a driver was stabbed, and last October, one was brutally murdered. Our drivers have learned the hard way that Graham Quirk doesn't seem to care. It’s time for the Lord Mayor to stop insulting his drivers, to recognise their hard work, to stop belittling them for their very real fears for their safety at work. It's time for Mayor Quirk to work with Bus Drivers for everyone's safety. All they are want is safety and fair working conditions, things all Australians should have.

The rising death toll along with the ever increasing suicide rate on these jobs, continues to spiral out of control. We should be pushing for more family friendly rosters, as the toll on both workers and family's is well beyond the financial reward now being offered.

The $10 billion employment services system is one of the biggest and most socially destructive rorts ever perpetuated against a Federal government Every day, private job agencies bully unemployed workers into attending dangerous Work for the Dole sites and other unfair activities in order to make a quick buck. Unemployed workers who refuse to be bullied into one of these unfair activities are penalised. During 2015/16, job agencies imposed a record 2,114,291 million penalties on unemployed workers - up from 311,622 in 2011. Many penalties are unfair - 37.5% of unemployed workers who appealed against a penalty had it overturned by Centrelink. Since 2011, the rate of job agency decisions overturned by Centrelink has increased by 15% - a clear sign the system is broken. The failure of the government to regulate the industry and penalise abusive job agencies has created a culture of fear and intimidation throughout the industry. The suffering endured by the 900,000 unemployed workers participating in this system is incalculable The death of Josh Park Fing at his Work for the Dole site in Toowoomba - one of the 64% of WFTD sites that do not meet basic safety standards - is a product of this punitive and broken system. The punitive job agencies system must be addressed immediately. A Senate inquiry is the first step. The ALP has the power to make this happen.

The people who work in South Australia's power industry deserve to be treated equally for equal work. But currently South Australian Power Networks (SAPN) management are trying to break the business in two, using the excuse that they need agreements that comply with the building code. These would force the people who work there onto agreements that: - ban mandatory hiring of apprentices - allow cut-price unskilled labour from labour hire companies - undermine safety and reliability for customers - attack the job security of experienced, reliable South Australians The CEPU/ETU recently successfully campaigned for changes to the building code that would exempt SAPN entirely from it because they perform essential services. Yet SAPN managers have refused to take up the exemption. They want to use the code as an excuse to put the screws on working South Australians. We support quality South Australian work, and the people who perform it. Add your voice below, and tell SAPN to stop playing games and apply for the building code exemptions.

I'm Judith, and I've been a cleaner for a long time. I've never seen anything like this. In the government's new contract, there’s no jobs guarantee – meaning 7,000 cleaners will all be forced to reapply for our jobs, without entitlements like sick leave that we’ve built up over years of service. And there’s no hours guarantee – which we can’t afford, and also means we won’t be able to keep state schools and public buildings clean. We’ve only got until the end of the year to change this, so please add your name to tell the Premier that cleaners need job security - the more of us who speak out together, the louder our voices are!

Despite signing onto the Universities' Australia Respect Now always campaign only last year, and making a commitment to the ongoing Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) project aimed at stamping out sexual assault on campus, the University of Tasmania (UTas) is actively welcoming a convicted sex offender on campus. Nicholaas Bester, who is currently a Phd student at the University of Tasmania (UTas) Sandy Bay campus, was convicted and jailed in 2011 for sexually abusing a 15 year old student at St. Michaels Collegiate girls college, where he was head of science. At the time of his parole, Bester was admitted to UTas as a student and received a phd scholarship. In 2015 Bester stated on social media his first crime was 'awesome' in a conversation so offensive it was reported to Tasmania Police and resulted in him being charged with producing child exploitation material. He served a prison sentence for this in 2016, during which time he remained a student at UTas. Despite multiple complaints being made about Besters presense on campus, the University of Tasmania has put students at risk by: - Accepting Bester as a resident in the John Fisher student accommodation complex, where he lived in close proximity with many students. - Making no attempt to terminate Bester’s student status after he was reported to the police for predatory behaviour at the University gymnasium. At the time, an agreement was made with Bester that he would no longer attend the gym, but UTas continued to accommodate him on campus. When questioned, the university deputy vice-chancellor for research, Bridgid Heywood said that "there is nothing in the universities' rules which precludes Bester from continuing his research." However, this appears to ignore the university behaviour policy which states that all staff and students have a right to work and / or study in an environment that is free from inappropriate behaviour, including the sexually harassing and abusive behaviours which Bester has engaged in. The universities decision to support Bester's phd status despite his continued criminal and inappropriate behaviour poses a clear threat to other university students, and in particular the underage students whom attend campus for pre-university units. This is ironic given the university sectors national commitment to creating safer campus environments after the release of the national union of students women's survey last year which showed that over 72% of women experience some form of sexual harassment or violence while studying . Sign the petition to demand that the University respect their commitment to improve student safety, by immediately terminating Nicholaas Bester's Phd scholarship, and banning him from attending all University of Tasmania campuses. *Under Federal and state legislation, universities' are autonomous self-accrediting institutions. The university has the authority to terminate a phd student position according to its own policies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEJMSOPGBqY&feature=youtu.be I’m Cass, and I’m a bartender. I love my job - but some of my experiences over the last six years working in hospitality have made me feel powerless, vulnerable and simply terrified. When I was 14 working at a cafe, my boss used to corner me and smack my arse. His excuse? “Oh, the kitchen is small.” When I worked as a bartender, my boss tried to make a $100 bet on what colour underwear I was wearing. Another time a customer tried to pay me $400 for sex. That customer came in everyday after work and would harass me - and my boss did nothing because “they’re good drinkers”. These are just a few of my stories, but I know this kind of disgusting harassment is widespread in our industry. For thousands of us, this is a regular part of our working lives - and it’s got to stop. Together, we can send a powerful message to the hospitality industry: we’re human beings, and we deserve respect. Sign our pledge and share it with your friends.

I am one of thousands of school cleaners in Victoria. We’re proud of our hard work keeping our schools clean and bright for the students, teachers and parents of Victoria. We are already some of the lowest paid workers in the state. We have families and lives too. We don’t deserve this kind of treatment. We deserve respect, and good secure jobs. Please stand with us and ask Premier Andrews to do the right thing by your school cleaners.

As my partner Jorge left for work on the 27th of November 2014 he told me - as he always did - that he loved me. Rather than respond as I always had, I told him to "be careful on the scissor lift" That was the last time I saw him alive. Jorge was always studious in his approach to safety. He took his responsibility to his workmates very seriously, and wasn’t afraid to voice his concerns. In spite of this, he went to work one day and never came home. The prosecution from SafeWork was dropped just days before it was set to go to court. We deserve answers. We deserve to know what happened to him and why. Jorge has no voice in this, but his story deserves to be heard. We need a Coronial Inquiry.

Another week and another assault on one of our bus drivers. Following the tragic death of one bus driver in October, attacks on bus drivers have not stopped. 29-year-old bus driver Manmeet Alisher was killed when he was set alight by a 48-year-old man in an unprovoked attack: https://goo.gl/g4ADeH A bus driver, just doing his job, supporting the community, had his life taken from him in what is a senseless and needless act. His parents have lost a son, and siblings lost a brother. Right now, police are searching for a male cyclist after a 60-year-old bus driver was repeatedly punched in the face just for doing their job: https://goo.gl/dSIqlP These aren't isolated incidents. Bus drivers are being assaulted every week. Enough is enough. It has to stop.