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.

We deserve a decent pay rise for the work we continue to do. We are essential workers – keeping our communities strong, loved ones safe and doing critical work to support our most vulnerable. We support people with disabilities to actively participate in our community and support those in our community who have been hit hard in recent times. We deserve a pay rise. Only by joining together through the Australian Services Union can we win the wage increases we need and deserve. The Annual Wage Review is the ONLY guaranteed wage increase anywhere in the economy. Sign our petition and join our campaign to win the pay increase we need and deserve.

Cost of living keeps going up and it is getting harder to support our families, pay the bills that keep on rising and plan for the future. Sign this petition to tell management that you deserve a fair pay increase. Only by joining together through the Australian Services Union can we win the wage increases we need and deserve. Forward this petition to a colleague – every Slater and Gordon team member who adds their voice builds momentum and makes it more likely to win a pay rise together.

Candidates for the election should commit to ending legalised queerphobia against students and young people. This can be done through three policy changes. 1. The religious discrimination bill was introduced into government in 2022 and passed the House, despite universal opposition from LGBT+ people. It is currently indefinitely suspended in the Senate. This bill should never be considered before parliament again, since it allows religious people and groups to openly discriminate against queer people under the guise of religious beliefs. While queer school students have been often discussed in relation to this bill, many university students are also in a religious environment. These students don't deserve to be discriminated against when they are simply trying to learn. Any attempts at a re-introduction of this bill must be opposed. 2. Conversion therapy must be banned on a federal level. It is ineffective and leaves lasting harm on survivors. There is little research on this practice in Australia, but evidence from UCLA in the US suggests that around 50% of survivors are under the age of 18. Victoria, the ACT and Queensland have already banned this incredibly harmful practice, but this is not enough. Without a federal ban, LGBT+ youth will continue to be put in danger by this practice. It is unconscionable to say that banning human rights abuses is a matter for the states. The federal government must also take action. 3. A legislative duty of care will ensure that queer university students are subject to the same protections as high school students. This is a key ask of the NUS's It's Time For Change campaign and is highly relevant to queer students. Having a duty of care would mean that universities would be required to provide gender neutral bathrooms, to act against queerphobic rhetoric on campus and to take action against sexual assault, which disproportionately affects queer students. It would mean that university administrations are required to make life better for queer students.

In 2021 only 4 people utilised the support services provided by UTS for survivors of sexual assault and harassment. Based on information gathered by the UTS Women’s Collective, the number of students who had undergone sexual violence in 2021 is much higher than this number. This means that students are, not aware of, distrustful of, or unable to access the support services provided by the university. Student survivors petitioned in 2021 for greater supports and for Respect.Now.Always to stop trivialising their experiences through insensitive fruit puns, however these concerns were not met with any response. The university is not fulfilling its duty of care to these students and it must listen to do better.

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.

Currently in Australia, a Royal Commission is looking into the shocking cases of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with a disability and Inclusive Education has been recommended during the hearings, utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 9 and 24 (see reference below). These UN Articles can’t be properly implemented in our public schools unless we provide access to people who use wheelchairs. 15-20% of people in Australia have a disability. It makes sense to include disabled people in our community - we are not going away! If you have an understanding of inclusion and don't believe in segregation in our public schools, please sign this petition and share it so we can make this change for our future generations to learn to accept diversity from the time they start school. Thank you for sticking up for those who might be a little different you! Remember - it could be you next who might need to use a mobility device and need to be included... https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/

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.

There is a high population of students from a variety of ethnic and migrant backgrounds who deserve a safe space to feel supported and validated in their time on campus. In 2020, UTS had 46,382 students enrolled and of those students, 13,963 were international students, 47% of students spoke languages other than English at home and 48% were born outside of Australia. Experiences of racial discrimination are common among students of colour, however, only 300 complaints have been reported to the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion entirely with an even smaller amount of these complaints being relevant to racial discrimination. The equity complaint sector itself is a relatively new sector with minimal data and offering students a space to explore the options available to them is vital. It is important for the plight of racial justice to extend beyond merely celebrating diversity. For an authentic sense of inclusion to be fostered, it is required of institutions to implement systems of support for bipoc students. The introduction of a safe space for the Ethnocultural Collective would allow students of colour the chance and space to discuss, dissect and reflect on their experiences by connecting with other students who face similar barriers and difficulties. This would also allow space for students of colour to raise awareness among students and pointing them towards processes of resolve in the face of discrimination and utilise the complaint system that is currently existent, but not particularly accessible. Urging the need for an allocated room and therefore Ethnocultural safe space, is the University Senior Executives’ plans for the “phased reactivation” of campus, as quoted in Andrew Parfitt, Provost and Senior Vice-President’s email sent to students on Monday the 11th of October 2021. With the reactivation and reopening of campus, comes the obligation of UTS Senior Executive to fast-track the bureaucratic process, and align the Ethnocultural safe space’s establishment with the return of students to campus. An Ethnocultural safe space would improve the campus experience for students of colour by firstly cultivating an active, ‘sticky campus’; but also filling the gaps that the university’s formal complaints processes aren’t able to address for students of Colour. Ultimately, a safe space would give students an outlet to express frustrations and anxieties of systemic and interpersonal racism, resulting in improved student wellbeing.

The Australian Parliament will vote on these laws in the next two weeks. We need you to add your voice to hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations who have called for the rejection of Scott Morrison’s undemocratic laws. There are already enough barriers to casting a vote in an election, especially if you live in a remote community. This is not the answer. Will you sign this petition to help us stop Scott Morrison’s undemocratic laws?

Imagine a situation where you wake up and realise, you’re living in a body that does not feel like your own, that the way you look and the way the world perceives you, does not align with who you are. Put simply, this is gender dysphoria. It is an everyday distress that affects most, though not all people who are transgender. Easy and unhindered access to assistance for people experiencing gender dysphoria is extremely important. Gender dysphoria can be alleviated in a multitude of ways including (but not limited to) counselling, hormone therapy, surgery and updating legal paperwork. We believe people who have to go on this journey should have access to an additional paid leave to assist with their affirmation simply and easily. As union members, whether this is a situation that affects us directly, indirectly, or something we have no experience of, we stand for equality. We ask you to stand with us.