In mid-2024, workers at Padre Coffee's Brunswick East roastery made the decision to unionise. This was not a step taken lightly – but it was a necessary one. Since the business was bought out by corporate coffee giant Seven Miles, working conditions have steadily declined. The sense of family and community that once defined the workplace has been lost under a top-down corporate culture. The tipping point came when one of our colleagues – our workplace delegate – began discussions with management about taking leave to undergo gender affirmation surgery. At the same time, the team had grown increasingly concerned about low wages, rising workloads, and a lack of workplace respect. Together, these experiences pushed workers to unionise and begin the process of negotiating an Enterprise Agreement that could secure better, fairer conditions for all. Padre workers currently earn salaries starting at just $55,000 a year – an amount that reflects industry-wide issues, but falls well short of what's needed to live in Brunswick East, let alone thrive. Meanwhile, the Company has appointed two CEOs, both reportedly earning salaries in the $300,000 range – meaning one executive's pay equals the entire annual wages of the roastery team combined. At the end of 2024, a round of redundancies made our small team even smaller, further increasing the pressure on those who remained. Despite this, the Company has refused to improve redundancy conditions or even consider a single wage increase in bargaining. Gender affirmation leave isn’t a luxury – it’s about basic dignity. Trans people face significant financial, social and emotional costs in accessing affirming healthcare. No one should have to quit their job just to transition safely. Paid gender affirmation leave is one small, critical step toward visibility, safety and equality for trans workers – and the fact that it’s being dismissed sends a harmful message about who belongs in our workplaces. Padre’s Brunswick East workers are proud to be part of this community – but they can’t fight this fight alone. The Company has shown little interest in engaging meaningfully at the bargaining table. Now, we need our community to help push for change.

While operated by the for-profit company Healthscope, Northern Beaches Hospital has been plagued by persistent complaints. Staff, patients, and families report chronic understaffing, poor patient outcomes and a culture that puts profits before patients.  Public ownership would restore accountability, improve staffing levels and working conditions and ensure safety for patients and workers alike.  Unions campaigned alongside NSW Labor in opposition to oppose the privatisation of these essential health services. Now it’s time for the Labor Government to honour their commitment and return the hospital to public hands where it belongs.  Add your name today to demand a healthcare system that puts people before profit.  

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about flexibility. It’s about protecting what workers already fought for, and rely on, to earn fair pay and balance work and life.  If big business get away with this, it won’t stop here.  We call on the Australian Government to:  • Reject big business’ dangerous push to gut work from home rights  • Lock in national protections that guarantee fair pay, breaks, and hours – no matter where you work  • Enshrine the right to request work from home for all workers who can, and want to, do their job remotely  Sign the petition below to tell big business ‘hands off”! 

Our colleagues across Australia have secured vital improvements to pay and conditions because they have access to the industrial rights that our employers want to deny us. The VCEA is seeking a ‘cooperative’ multi-employer bargaining process, but we’ve seen what that really means: dysfunction and massive delays, a process stacked against us, and deeply unfair constraints on our ability to effectively campaign for a fair and timely outcome. When we last took large-scale industrial action (mirroring protected action taken by government school staff), Catholic employers sought injunctions against our union and individual members were intimidated with the the threat of fines. If we commence bargaining under their so-called ‘cooperative’ model, employers could use this to attempt to prevent us from successfully applying for a Single Interest Authorisation for many months, locking us out of our fundamental industrial rights during the most important stages of bargaining. Employers could apply for that Authorisation now, allowing good faith bargaining to commence this year without denying basic rights to over 30,000 hard-working staff. The VCEA’s refusal to do so isn’t just unfair, it contradicts core Catholic values of dignity, justice, and the right to take industrial action when needed. We must stand up for fair bargaining! Read more here

The Premier cannot say Victoria is the ‘education state’ and promise parents fee-free 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten without the workforce to deliver it – and that can’t happen without investing in decent wages and working conditions. Delivering for teachers and educators who work in Victoria’s kindergartens means delivering for the children they educate. Everyone knows that for children to succeed at school they require access to high-quality kinder delivered by teachers and educators that are supported, respected and valued. Children benefit the most when their early childhood teachers and educators are well supported, paid a decent wage, and want a long term career in early childhood education.  Supporting the teachers and educators who work in Victoria’s kindergartens will benefit children, who will be ready to start school; and parents, who will know their child is getting the best start to their education.  - Tracey Webb, Early Childhood Educator and AEU Member

Public psychologists provide specialist assessment and treatment to people across the lifespan. We are essential for: 1. learning assessments, determining special school placements, behavioural consultancy, and mental health support in schools 2. developmental and autism diagnostic assessments in hospitals 3. mental health assessment and treatment for children, adolescents, adults, and older persons in hospital and the community 4. psychological and neuropsychological assessment and treatment in hospitals and community settings, for physical health and rehabilitation. 5. child protection and forensic assessments for children and young people where there is suspected abuse and/or neglect 6. forensic assessments in juvenile justice and adult corrections  7. psychological support for perinatal, infant, and child and youth community health  Imagine not having psychologists in the SA public sector to meet these critical needs!  South Australians don't deserve to miss out on specialist care. Instead, they are being forced to go without or to access psychological assessment or treatment from the private sector which we know is unaffordable for many.   Without our vital psychological services in the public sector, there will be even more pressure on the health, education, and child protection systems, and it places vulnerable children, adults, and families at further risk. There will be more children on wait lists for diagnostic assessments while missing out on important early intervention, and vulnerable adults will not have the care at the time they need it and fall into acute mental health crisis. SA cannot afford to increase ramping pressure or allow our children to fall behind.    SA psychologists feel privileged and honoured to serve the public; but now we ask for your assistance and support to keep our workforce strong and thriving so that we can continue to help you in the future.  Join the campaign. Sign the petition and let the SA Government know that you want them to respect psychologists and save public psychology. 

As unionists, we know that WorkCover is in need of reform. We also believe this is a moment where we can make greater changes to improve the safety of Victorian workers, address the root causes of these injuries and have a system that is responsive to their medical needs. These changes have hurt workers - sign the petition to call on the Victorian Government to reverse these changes.

The brutal reality is PepsiCo made $2 billion in revenue and $106 million in profits in 2023 alone. Yet they refuse to share even crumbs with the workers who make their success possible.  South Australian workers who produce and package Doritos and Smith’s Chips are paid 12% less than their Queensland colleagues for doing the exact same work, and even though the product is the same price nationally. Same rate, each state - is that really too much to ask from a billion-dollar global empire? A level 3 worker would need to work for 740 YEARS to earn what global CEO Ramon Laguarta pockets in a single year, $49.3 million. Send a message to the PepsiCo CEO to end the greed and respect South Australian workers with a fair deal!

Living costs are still rising - and too many SACS workers are being forced to cut back, dip into savings, or delay essential expenses.  That’s why the ASU is putting forward a case for an 4.5% increase in 2025. And your support helps show just how urgently this is needed across our sector.  In the past few years alone, union members have campaigned for – and won – above-inflation increases for Award workers. These wins didn’t come from nowhere. They came from workers like you, standing together and demanding better.   But big business and the Coalition have made it clear: they don’t back wage increases for workers like you.   So once again, we’re taking a stand and making the case for a real pay rise.  In 2025, we’re pushing for a 4.5% pay rise.  Add your name to support a real pay rise.  Together, we’re winning better pay. 

Our recent cost-of-living survey showed what you already know: workers are under real pressure. Essentials like groceries, rent and fuel are taking a bigger bite out of household budgets.   This is why the Annual Wage Review matters.   In the past few years alone, union members have campaigned for – and won – above-inflation increases for Award workers. These wins didn’t come from nowhere. They came from workers like you, standing together and demanding better.  But big business and the Coalition have made it clear: they don’t back wage increases for workers like you.   So once again, we’re taking a stand and making the case for a real pay rise.  In 2025, we’re pushing for a 4.5% pay rise.  Add your name to support a real pay rise.  Together, we’re winning better pay.  Sign the petition for a 4.5% pay rise today.   

The university is undergoing a restructure, including significant cuts, that is opposed by the LTSU and is introducing another student body to weaken the union’s ability to oppose this. Elected representatives from “another student organisation” within the last two years are ineligible for a position on the new Student Council, preventing those who have already been elected by the student body to the LTSU or LTSA from running. Additionally, the Election Regulations allow the university to “remove candidates from the election process at any time at their own discretion”. The regulations also allow the university to “share information about individual candidates on the University website and/or social media”, purportedly to promote the election. Both of these policies could allow the university to influence the results of the election and have an influence in how the Student Council runs.  We, the undersigned, call on the university to cancel the formation of the Student Council as an attack on the LTSU and independent student organisation.

We need the Geelong and Bellarine community to send a strong message to Councillors, their representatives, that quality Council run aged care services matter!