Newstart is $243 per week below the poverty line. Thanks to our government's refusal to raise the rate, unemployed Australians are being forced to needlessly endure crushing poverty every single day of their lives. Because there are far more job seekers than jobs available, the average time spent on Newstart is now five-and-a-half years. According to the ABS, there are currently 16 job seekers competing for every job available. In a wealthy country like Australia, which has "enjoyed" almost three decades of continuous economic growth, nobody should have to starve on lowly social security entitlements. We must fight for the right of unemployed workers to a liveable income. We must demand our leaders immediately raise Newstart to the poverty line.

This petition is being run by United Voice members in the ACT region. We are cleaners, security guards, early learning educators, and hospitality workers who need our federal politicians to represent low paid workers. We know what it's like to get underpaid and lodge a complaint, only to have our shifts cut, never recover stolen wages and see bosses go unpenalised. The ACT may have the highest average income in Australia but workers all over our community are getting ripped off by bosses and need change. Our local candidates should commit to working on these issues before they seek our vote in May.

Le Bon Ton is a New Orleans-style bar in Collingwood and one of Melbourne’s hottest late night venues. The bar closes at 6am on weekends and staff often don’t finish until even later. But whenever you work, you don’t get penalty rates. I worked for the owners of Le Bon Ton for more than a year and like countless other workers I wasn’t paid penalty rates either - I got paid a flat rate of as little as $18 per hour. In total, they stole about $5000 from me. Lots of others are also owed thousands of dollars. Will and Mick Balleau didn’t care if I couldn’t pay my rent. They’d you give a free beer at the end of your shift and reckon that makes it all right. They made me speak to their accountant who promised me the money. They even sent me a spreadsheet confirming I’d been underpaid by thousands and promised they'd pay me in the next pay run. But they never did. They were betting on me not knowing how to get my money. I finished working for them three years ago and I'm still waiting to get paid. What this is, is theft. But hospo bosses just keep getting away with it. I want to see these wage thieves held to account for how they treat their staff. The watchdog needs to take serious action against these guys. https://vimeo.com/319264816

Nearly 80 Australian seafarers have been sacked by BHP and replaced with exploited overseas visa workers. These should be Australian jobs for Australian workers, but Scott Morrison's Government chose BHP's profits over the jobs of locals.

Pharmacists study for 4 years, undertake an intern year and continuous professional development through their careers to ensure they can care for our community. That they are paid under $54,000 for such a vital job is a national shame. For two years Professional Pharmacists Australia (PPA) have argued in the Fair Work Commission to increase wages. Our members have provided evidence that a pharmacist’s work-value has increased with greater educational requirements, greater responsibilities and workload and yet pay has not kept up with change. The Fair Work Comission has rejected raising all wages, but will now consider intern and pharmacist rates and allowances for professional services. Sign to support our final submission to raise pay and ask your colleagues to sign as well.

Workers at Botany Cranes went without pay increases for five years in order to support the business through a slow period. In 2018, they finally came to an agreement with management on a new set of wages and conditions. The workers were relieved. They thought it was a done deal. But now, management are refusing to sign that agreement. Then, as if to add insult to injury, they've sacked long time employee and union delegate Howard Byrnes. Howard was sacked for raising issues on behalf of the whole Botany Cranes workforce with management. Workers were worried that the EBA hasn't been signed by management, that their superannuation hasn't been paid in months, and that their redundancy and income protection insurances are out of date. Howard was just doing his job as union delegate and raising these issues on behalf of the workers.

Workers in Australia have a right to join and participate in their union. The Federal government should not be allowed to tell workers what they can and can't wear. This is a blatant attempt by the Federal government to stop workers being active in their union. Sign our petition to tell the Federal Minister that this is unfair.

Hospital pharmacists provide essential services to our community. Cutting pharmacists wages and conditions, including removing senior level roles means patients won’t have access to experienced pharmacists. Patients rely heavily on senior pharmacists to provide advice and get dosages right – it’s just wrong to compromise these patients and penalise staff by cutting their working conditions and pay.

Great societies have well run, smart public services. STEM expertise in the Australian Public Service is vital so that our country can deliver the infrastructure, technical outcomes and public policy that Australians expect and deserve. STEM professionals are under increased pressure to deliver, while across the country staffing numbers are cut, funding is slashed and the voices of our scientists, engineers and technical experts are ignored. We see the results all around us –scientific advice ignored, project overruns, waste, cost blow outs. At the same time wages are stagnating, conditions are reduced, and job security is diminishing. We need to restore STEM capacity in the Australian Public Service and create a public service where professional expertise is respected as the key enabler it is, not an overhead to be cut.

The Fair Work Ombudsman must investigate Dinner By Heston and take strong action against venues like these that use salary-based arrangements to underpay their workers. The law is clear: Employers must keep an accurate daily record of start and finish times, of the hours worked, and breaks taken, and have them signed weekly by employees. Employers must also do a reconciliation to see if staff have been underpaid. And if there is a shortfall, the employer must pay the difference. We are calling on the watchdog to enforce the law at Dinner By Heston. They must ensure these workers are paid for every hour they work and are paid back all their stolen wages.

The Treasury Building has a shocking but important history that must be preserved. It is filled with Tasmanian political, administrative and judicial history and was the place of many executions. Those executed included Matthew Brady, sent to Australia from Britain for taking part in an infamous peaceful protest in 1819 over famine-like conditions and lack of representation. Brady was hung on the steps of the Treasury after escaping the isolated Sarah Island on Macquarie harbour, becoming a legendary bushranger and a Robin Hood-like character; fighting off the British garrison at Sorrell. The history of political prisoners in Australia like Brady is an electrifying story that positions Australia and Tasmania at the center of the global trade union narrative. Yet it is a history barley mentioned, half forgotten; rarely told – the Radical History Collective intends to change that. The campaign to preserve the Treasury building is one of many fights that need to be had to preserve the rich and glorious history of the political prisoners sent to these shores.

APS3 Biosecurity Officers are deeply disappointed that after many months, department representatives have proposed an APS3 to 4 broadband process that is not fair or reasonable. The process that has begun makes access to the broadband dependent on applying for promotion through a rigorous recruitment process. This was not the intention of the broadband when we negotiated our EA in good faith.