Safety In recent years, Wyndham has seen a rise in violent crime. An unstaffed library could provide an easy place for criminal activity to occur. Few safety guarantees are being made about unstaffed hours. These safety issues mean that women, families and anyone vulnerable to racial, homophobic, transphobic or ableist violence may be uncomfortable accessing the library when it is unstaffed. People living with disabilities may not be able to access the space due to rules that prevent their carers visiting with them unless they have a membership as well. With no staff to help in a violent incident or medical emergency there is no guarantee the library is a safe place. Would you trust an empty library, late at night to be safe? Would you be happy to rely on the police or ambulance to arrive in time to help you if something terrible did occur while you were visiting an unstaffed library? Fairness Libraries are funded by your rates and tax dollars and are currently available to everybody during opening hours. By design, unstaffed library hours will not be accessible to all. We want increased library services for all. Not just access for a few! Using the library during unstaffed hours requires a separate membership restricted by age and vague criteria such as confidence using the library independently. Additionally, unstaffed hours will not be available at every library branch – if your local branch does not offer extended hours, you’re out of luck. Membership is not guaranteed upon application and can be blocked for any reason. It requires an induction process and agreement to a separate set of terms and conditions. No guidelines have been provided to prevent discrimination or bias in the selection process. Accessing the library during unstaffed hours may be unavailable to you if: • You are deemed not to meet the membership criteria. • You cannot find time to sit through a lengthy induction during staffed operating hours. • You require any assistance using the library. • Not every library branch will have unstaffed hours so one neighbourhood will have better access than others. Introducing unstaffed hours does not address existing geographic gaps in service within Wyndham or community demand for services requiring staff, such as weekend or evening programming and may be used as an excuse not to ever provide these services in the future. There is a great risk that this project will only benefit a small number of people and you may not be one of them! Is that fair and equitable access? Does it seem like a good use of your rates and tax money? Cheaper, lower quality service Unstaffed library hours are being pitched as an enhancement to existing library services at a fraction of the cost compared to extending staffed hours of service, opening new branches or extending outreach services. But as well as serving a narrower section of the community, the proposal explicitly provides a lower quality of service. During unstaffed hours, the library will not provide: • IT or equipment support. • Assistance dealing with library account issues. • Assistance with any issues accessing the library using your Open Libraries membership. • Access to collection items kept behind the library desk. • Library programs or events. • In-person support in the event of an emergency. Libraries in the future Your libraries are currently staffed for all opening hours and librarians spend all day helping people. One concern industry experts have about unstaffed hours is the potential damage to our industry and what libraries can offer our communities in the future. If politicians begin to believe that libraries don’t need librarians, it’s only a matter of time before staffed services are reduced in the name of cost-saving. After the UK introduced unstaffed hours, over 50% of librarians were replaced with unqualified volunteers – or nothing at all. If you love musical and literacy programs for your children, study assistance for your teenagers and IT help for those of us who find advancing technology challenging to keep up with, don’t let your libraries become just a building with books inside.  You deserve a library that has librarians in it – for every hour we are open. Please sign our petition and/or write to your local councillor to show your support for the people who support you. You can write your own email or use this template: Dear (Councillor’s name) I am writing to express my concern about the proposed Open Libraries project at Wyndham City Council.  My concerns are (include your main concerns here) and I believe that without community consultation there is no evidence that this will be a responsible use of the council budget.  I urge you to listen to your constituents and not support this project moving forward. Signed, Your name • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected]

By coming together in union, we can fix the long-standing undervaluation of our skilled and complex work that has kept our wages too low. Fair pay means secure jobs, less turnover, better services and stronger communities. When workers are valued, everyone benefits. We call on governments and employers to support us by: • Backing wages that value our work • Properly funding fair wages • Respecting the skill and complexity our work requires Recently we’ve improved our classification structure. Now it’s time to finish the job and lift our pay. We deserve more than recognition. We deserve fair pay, secure futures and real respect. Add your name and stand with us.

TasTAFE is where thousands of Tasmanians build the skills they need for work and for life. But right now, it’s being cut back—just when people need it most.  With tens of millions in savings demanded and more job and course cuts on the way, students are losing the support they rely on to succeed. These cuts mean fewer teachers, fewer courses, and fewer services—especially for those who already face the biggest barriers.  Students in regional areas, migrants learning English, creatives, and those retraining for new careers are all being hit hardest.  Support services like counselling and libraries are already stretched, and this will only make things worse. This doesn’t just affect students — it affects all of us. TasTAFE trains the workers our state relies on. By signing this petition, you’re standing up for students, staff, and Tasmania’s future.

Residential group homes are an essential public service for individuals living with disabilities. Homes provide a safe environment, supported by public sector workers who have dedicated their careers to caring for individuals with high support needs.    Privatising these services will force families to make agonising choices, separate clients from carers and leave 400+ public sector workers without jobs. 

After a year of negotiating in good faith, union members at Parks Victoria are taking action. They have repeatedly asked to be treated the same as any other public sector workers - but management aren't listening. They think that workers should be happy with the latest offer, which does nothing to address the reasonable requests of the workforce and would lock in insufficient wages and conditions for another generation of workers. For too long, public sector workers at Parks Victoria have been underpaid and overworked. For nearly 15 years, the hard working rangers, environmental scientists, and administrators of Parks Victoria have been held back by wages and conditions that are below other public sector workers. These are the people who manage the state’s extensive public lands, parks, and reserves, and ensure our natural environment is protected for generations of Victorians to enjoy. Crucially, these workers are also expected to provide essential firefighting and emergency response capability, working as an integrated part with other agencies in times of crisis; often operating in the worst conditions in some of the most remote regions in Victoria. These workers are the first responders in natural disasters, but last in line for public sector wages. By supporting this petition, you’re helping protect the workers who protect our natural environment.

Queensland state school teachers and leaders carry out one of the most essential, influential, invaluable roles in our community - educating the next generation.     While their work underpins just about everything necessary for a fair, thriving, equitable society, Queensland teachers and leaders are also currently reporting increased stress and anxiety, stemming from issues related to rising workplace injuries, assaults and threats. ·       Teacher and student wellbeing and learning are at risk. Every worker must have the right to attend their workplace safe from harm or violence - teachers should not be any different. A safe and healthy workplace is a legal right for employees and a legal obligation of the employer.  ·       The teacher shortage crisis will only worsen unless educators can be assured of their safety at work. Stress, anxiety, and burnout are key contributors to experienced teachers leaving the profession and the lack of new people joining it.  ·       It’s about government responsibility to ensure the ongoing future of strong, sustainable, equitable public education that delivers on its promise – “Brighter Futures – delivering excellence in every state school.”  Current legislation simply isn’t protecting Queensland state school teachers and leaders as required.   Sign our petition and send a clear message to the Premier - great state schools need teachers and leaders who are safe from occupational violence and aggression. Authorised by Brendan Crotty, Acting General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union, 21 Graham St Milton Qld 4064

Liverpool City Council workers deserve to feel safe at work and supported while serving their community. Instead, ongoing dysfunction, public hostility and political conduct have created a workplace environment where staff report distress, harassment and fear for their safety. More than half of surveyed staff have considered leaving the Council. When experienced council workers are driven out, the whole community feels the impact — from parks and libraries to roads, planning, customer service and support for vulnerable residents. Liverpool deserves a council that is safe, stable and properly functioning for both workers and the community. This petition calls for action to restore safety, good governance and public confidence at Liverpool City Council.

608 Victorian workers told us what's really happening behind the counter, on the floor and in the kitchen. The picture is clear: this industry is failing in their duty to create safe workplaces and breaking their social contract with the community. Right now, there are no real consequences for failing workers.   That has to change.   Licence holders and business owners must be held accountable when violence happens on their watch and they failed to prevent it.    We're calling on the Victorian Government to:   • Introduce a penalty system for liquor licence holders and employers who fail to prevent or address safety incidents, including conditions, suspension or revocation of their licence   • Introduce a dedicated safety framework for high-risk venues like late-night and alcohol-serving venues, developed in consultation with workers and unions   • Establish a clear, accessible reporting process that accounts for the precarious nature of hospo work: protecting casual workers, visa holders, and those with language barriers from retaliation.   

These jobs aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.  These are the workers who keep our trains running, deliver vital support to children and families, provide security in our prisons and correctional facilities, and keep our schools, hospitals and emergency services running smoothly.  Every public sector job cut means:  • longer wait times,  • fewer services,  • more pressure on already overstretched workers,  • and another family who will struggle to pay their bills   At a time when people are struggling to pay the mortgage and fill up the car, the Liberals’ first instinct is to cut jobs and services. When the Liberals cut jobs and funding – it’s working families that pay.  Victorians deserve investment in strong public services — not cuts, privatisation, and job losses. We call on Jess Wilson’s Liberal party to reverse this decision immediately. Sign the petition & tell the Liberals to get their hands off our public services!  

Every child deserves a great education. That depends on schools being able to attract, support and keep great teachers, education support staff and school leaders.  Right now in Victoria, that is becoming harder:  •  Catholic school staff are being denied basic bargaining rights by employers •  Workloads are unsustainable  •  Schools are facing serious staff shortages  This means less time, less support, and fewer opportunities for our children.   Families invest in Catholic education and rightly expect high-quality teaching and support. However, in Victoria, Catholic education employers are spending time and money on a legal battle to deny staff these basic rights, instead of investing in the staff and schools our children rely on. 

This week marks 170 years since the Melbourne University Stonemasons won the first 8 hour day in the world in Melbourne, Victoria. Since then, we have seen the invention of the telephone, the light bulb, the automobile, radio, airplanes, television, computers, the internet, and now generative AI. Yet workers still work the same amount of hours, often more, and the Top-end-of-town reap all the rewards. Australia led the world for workers' rights winning the 8 hour day. It's time to do it again. It's time for a Four Day Work Week.

In the middle of yet another global crisis disrupting supply chains, this is our moment to secure NSW’s future – because when overseas supply chains fail, it’s local workers and communities who pay the price. Public money should back local industry - creating secure jobs, strengthening communities and building a more resilient NSW. A Jobs First Commission would make sure government spending backs NSW first - supporting workers, strengthening local businesses, and protecting our state in uncertain times. Sign the petition today to call on the NSW Government to establish a Jobs First Commission that will: 1. Invest in local manufacturing and expand NSW domestic capacity  2. Build stronger, more resilient supply chains to protect our state in times of uncertainty  3. Prioritise safe, secure, and well-paid jobs for NSW workers