The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the social inequality many young people have experienced for too long. While the world tries to manage an unfolding pandemic, this crisis has led to insecurity in housing, income, and study without action from our government. This crisis will affect all aspects of the lives of students and young people. Casual workers, most of whom are students, have no guarantee that they will get paid if their workplace is to shut down or they must self-isolate. Working people need to know they don’t have to make the decision between going to work sick, or self-isolating and not being able to pay their bills. At Universities, our campuses are closing and moving online, while ongoing fears about fees and future of study, especially for international students, remain unaddressed. So many questions remain unanswered, but what we know is that if this continues, bills will stack up, evictions will occur, and income support payments will be lost. In its silence, our government is finalising a generation of inequality for today’s young people. As they move towards announcing their second stimulus package, young workers and students are begging for support. The Morrison government is yet to respond to our concerns. Instead, focusing on lining the pockets of business and giving out one off welfare payments that will fail to bring students out of poverty. Students and young people cannot continue to be left behind. This statement is endorsed by dozens of student representatives from around the country, representing hundreds of thousands of students whose livelihoods and futures are under threat. We are demanding action. The government must finally take leadership during this crisis and support the Australians who have been forgotten. Workers, students, and young people need action to protect their income, housing, and study. To fail at this now will hurt this nation for years to come.

We need this government to step up and ensure all workers who are unable to work because of Coronavirus have access to special paid leave, and are not left out of pocket.

All Ambulance Victoria staff place a vital role in our community helping Victorians when they are most in need. The exponential increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases highlights a new threat faced by Ambulance Victoria’s staff working on the frontline to protect Victoria at this crucial time.

We know that employing qualified professionals with the right expertise is essential for community safety and improves the quality of Canberra’s infrastructure. The ACT Government must ensure it has the appropriately qualified and accredited professional workforce it needs to inform decision making, enable efficient investment and maintain its position as an informed purchaser. Maintaining the integrity of the Infrastructure Officer (IO) and Infrastructure Management Specialist (IMS) classifications is critical to achieving this. These classifications were created because of a successful campaign led by Professionals Australia members for better recognition of their specialist skills and knowledge. The IO and IMS classifications were meant to ensure the ACT Government could attract and retain the people it needs to deliver major infrastructure safely, on time and on budget. Right now, Professionals Australia members across the ACT Public Service have serious concerns that IO and IMS positions are routinely misclassified and often awarded to applicants who do not have the expertise that qualified infrastructure professionals, including engineers, architects and degree-qualified building professionals can provide. We know that things will only improve when Government and the community understand the vital contribution Professionals make to community safety and efficient delivery of infrastructure projects. We are prepared to work hard to achieve a better future – but we can’t do it without you! Add your support and help raise the profile of Australian Professionals. Tell the ACT Government that professional expertise matters!

Right now all of Australia is concerned about containing the COVID-19 coronavirus and we need to make sure everyone has access to the necessary information. For our CALD communities, which includes the Deaf community, this means accurate translation and interpretation of information about the Coronavirus. It’s their right to know how to keep themselves safe. And it’s everyone’s safety too. If they’re denied access to information, they may – through no fault of their own – contribute to the spread of the virus.

If Casual Relief Teachers or Casual Education Support staff are sick or required to self-isolate they will not get sick pay. This puts real pressure on our colleagues to come to work sick. If schools are required to close they will not be paid. Public health is not an individual responsibility, it is a social responsibility.

No university worker should be forced to choose between quarantine and feeding their family. The Coronavirus Covid-19 crisis is engulfing Australia - and our universities are in the eye of the storm. Right now, job security is health security and we need university Vice-Chancellors to do the right thing by staff, students and the public. That means securing our rights at work so we can protect our health at home. No-one can predict how long this crisis will continue - perhaps weeks or months. That's why we need to lock in firm commitments from university employers now to keep things fair, and keep us safe.

The lives of thousands of Australians hinge on our government taking immediate action by guaranteeing paid leave and protective equipment for all home care & disability support workers.

We are in unprecedented times and as workers, we are petitioning for the Government to introduce an Epidemic and Pandemic Special Leave Policies.  We encourage the Government to recognise that this is an unprecedented situation and as front line transport workers, working with people and their goods, and continuously exposed to the potentially sick patrons, we are at a heightened risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.  We seek the Government to provide special leave to individuals who do not have sufficient sick leave to cover their absence or carer’s leave to look after an affected family member - be their employment contract a casual, part-time or full-time contract. Read more about the risk Qantas and Jetstar workers are facing here: https://www.theage.com.au/national/union-fears-deadly-risk-of-poor-cleaning-on-qantas-jetstar-flights-20200316-p54amu.html

School cleaners don’t have enough time to do their job because of cuts to cleaning hours by the NSW Government. Cleaners want to ensure your kids are safe but simply don’t have enough time to do the job they want to do.

We are saying with one big loud voice: it’s time for the Federal Government to step up and support casual workers and the businesses that employ them. Everyone besides this government understands that casual workers cannot afford to go into quarantine for two weeks without pay. Nor can these workers afford to go on Newstart which is just $40 a day and below the poverty line. And many workers aren’t even eligible. No one wants casual workers going to work who are sick simply because they can't afford to lose pay. Lots of businesses are doing the right thing and supporting their staff. But many small businesses are already on their knees from the bushfires and they face another massive blow from the Coronavirus. Now is the time for real leadership. We need this government to step in and ensure all workers forced to take leave because of Coronavirus can do so, and not be left out of pocket.

The possibility of university-wide shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 virus is a terrifying one for casual and insecure workers who have no sick pay or leave entitlements. In Australian public universities, more than half of all teaching at our universities is delivered by casual staff, we are not marginal we are the backbone of the sector. This means that in the event of a shutdown, thousands of university staff are facing the loss of income they rely on to pay the bills and keep food on the table or even job losses. Casual workers who become sick in the coming weeks and months will have to decide whether they can afford to self-isolate or quarantine. This is both unconscionable and dangerous. The responsibility for this disastrous situation lies squarely on the shoulders of university managements who have responded to declining public funding by building an insecure workforce – all while enjoying some of the highest salaries in the world for university executives. So far, only Macquarie University has guaranteed access to sick pay and leave for casual staff in the event of self-isolation or shutdown. This is a welcome decision and we call on all other universities to follow their example. Currently, universities remain open for business, but the COVID-19 travel bans and public health crisis have given spendthrift universities across Australia an excuse to cut jobs. Frontline teaching staff have already lost work and more job losses are threatened. At the same time, staff workloads have intensified as student support needs have escalated. Despite the number of unknowns facing Australian universities, one thing is certain: domestic and international students will need more support – not less – because of the disruption caused by COVID-19. A well-staffed university workforce is fundamental if we are to meet the needs of students during this public health crisis. Casual staff must not pay the price for the COVID-19 outbreak. We are not a ‘soft expense’ to be cut when convenient, nor should we have to choose between our health, the health of our students and colleagues, and putting food on the table. By March 18 all universities must guarantee: · Casual staff continue to be paid if they are required to self-isolate. This is a basic requirement to secure the welfare of casual staff and ensure the safety of the university community. · Casual staff continue to be paid in the event of university shutdowns, even if they are unable to work from home. Casual staff perform work in teaching and research that is core to the mission of universities. Retention and support of casual staff must be a university priority. · Stop job cuts and austerity measures. Universities need more – not less – frontline staff to support and retain students through this difficult time. Endorsed by: NTEU UniMelb Casuals Network, NTEU ANU Casuals Committee, NTEU UoN Casuals Collective, NTEU UQ Casuals Caucus