We're Kim and Gemma.  We worked at BP One Stop throughout 2021 and 2022. During our employment we had over $30,000 in wages and superannuation stolen by our employer. We're demanding justice and calling for BP One Stop to pay its workers fairly and repay our stolen wages! But there's another problem. Darren Noseda owns and runs the Noseda Retail Trust. Noseda Retail Trust is the registered owner of BP One Stop in Portland. However, through a complex corporate structure, others pay and employ staff at his business.  We're calling on Darren and Noseda Retail Trust to employ their workers directly, so other workers like us can ensure they're paid fairly!

Community and disability workers provide critical support and care to people in some of the most vulnerable situations in our communities. We make a difference every day and deserve to be paid fairly for the work we do. We are advocates, support workers, carers, counsellors, case workers and so much more to the clients and communities we work with.   Recent groundbreaking ASU/UNSW research found that: • Two-thirds (67%) of community and disability workers are under-classified.  • Many are required to perform tasks beyond their pay grade and face limited career progression.  • Financial pressures are severe, with 1 in 3 needing help from family or friends to meet living costs.   For too long, community and disability workers have been overworked, undervalued and underpaid.   ASU members are standing together to ensure that community and disability workers are valued, and respected, with fair pay and secure careers. We need everyone, and all governments to stand with us. Sign the petition today!

It is alarming that Council, comprised of progressive councillors, has initiated this sale. The sale like all privatisation decisions will put at risk workers, conditions and job security.  Citywide workers have told us the following reasons that we should all oppose privatisation of these services:  1. Job Security: Outsourcing threatens the job security of ASU members, who devoted their carers to providing quality services to the community. 2. Quality of Services: ASU members have the expertise and commitment to maintain high standards of work and services. Selling off our services to a private company will lead to a decline in quality. 3. Economic Impact: Keeping jobs within our community supports the local economy and ensures that ASU members can continue positively to it. 4. Accountability: Outsourced services to a private sector such as Cleanaway won’t improve working conditions including wages 

We believe that maintaining in-house services is essential for preserving the integrity, reliability, and quality of the services we provide. We urge the council to reconsider any plans for outsourcing and to explore alternative solutions that protect our jobs and maintain service standards. We stand united in our commitment to the community and to the values of fair employment and quality service provision.

Rather than spending time recovering from short-term illnesses, workers have to take time out of their day to book appoints with a GP to obtain a medical certificate just to justify their reason for taking sick leave. Often, appointments might not be available for days, and with bulk billing on the decline many workers essentially have to pay out of pocket to evidence their own sick leave. Rather than spending most of their time writing certificates for workers who already know they're ill, GPs should be tending to people who need it most.

NDIS support workers are highly skilled and dedicated. They provide essential, complex support that empowers people with a disability and develops their independence. Wage theft and fraud in the NDIS, which could be up to $16,000 annually per worker, and more if they do extra hours, is a serious problem demanding immediate action. The disability support workforce is predominantly female. This wage theft disproportionately hurts women and makes the shamefully wide gender pay gap even worse. Governments have funded the NDIS to pay Equal Pay to all disability support workers. Valuing this skilled profession is crucial if we are committed to closing the gender pay gap. ASU members know a strong NDIS hinges on properly valuing its workforce. Dedicated, skilled and professional workers should not be paid wages as low as $24 per hour. Their work deserves proper recognition, and this underpayment weakens the entire system.  Stamping out NDIS wage theft and fraud benefits everyone. Workers receive fair pay, taxpayers' funds are used efficiently, and NDIS participants benefit from a motivated, professional workforce.  We need an NDIS workforce that is properly paid, trained and supported to build the best NDIS. It is vital for the future of the NDIS, for recipients, taxpayers, and workers, that we end this exploitation immediately. Join us in demanding fair pay for NDIS workers! Sign our petition today.

Young Australians lose out on about $3 billion every year because of junior wage laws - and it's mostly pocketed up by multinational giants. These big corporations shouldn't be able to take advantage of these young Australians by paying them a lower rate for the same job. Junior wages are based on unfair and outdated assumptions about young people's living costs - but times have changed. Australia's award system already provides for different pay scales according to a person's job, the tasks they perform, and their prior experience. Junior wages undermine these standards by allowing a 18 year old manager with 2 years experience to be paid less than the new-starter 21 year old she's supervising and training. Besides being manifestly unfair, junior wages are confusing. Having your wage change sometimes more than twice a year, and being unable to compare your wages with your co-workers, makes it hard for young workers to check that their pay is correct.  The government needs to end this practice of age-discrimination, and abolish junior wages now!

The South African boss of Woolworths holdings (owner of Country Road), Roy Bagattini, recently directed Country Road Group staff to refrain from talking publicly about serious allegations of sexual harassment and bulllying in the company. Country Road, like so many other companies before them, has responded to these concerns by intimidating workers and covering up their complaints. It's no way to run a business, and it's certainly no way to end gendered violence in the workplace. Workers across Victorian are campaigning in union to to end this culture of cover-ups and victim-blaming, in part by working to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements (i.e. cover-up clauses) in cases of workplace sexual harassment. Country Road's customers and the general public have a right to know if their purchases are being used to prop up a business with a toxic workplace culture.

The medical scientists and technicians at Melbourne Pathology are only seeking a fair pay increase and the industry standards of five weeks of annual leave and access to long service leave after seven years.     But when asked to make fair increases in pay and improvements in conditions for their scientific and technical workforce, the management at Melbourne Pathology cry poor.   While they cry poor, management has had little to say when it is pointed out that the CEO of Sonic Health, the parent company of Melbourne Pathology, is among the top ten paid CEOs in Australia.    It is best practice for medical scientists and laboratory technicians to have five weeks annual leave and access to long service leave after seven years. Melbourne Pathology claims they already give their scientific workforce a competitive salary package. However, if this were true, how would Melbourne Pathology explain losing great staff to other scientific workforces.    Melbourne Pathology medical scientists and technicians would rather solely focus on helping patients and getting their important work done. Instead, they are being forced to take industrial action to get a fair deal. To see medical scientists and technicians stop work is extremely unusual given their dedication and commitment to helping patients.    The medical scientists and technicians at Melbourne Pathology are only seeking a fair outcome that recognises their skills and efforts. 

A PLSL scheme means that a worker's LSL entitlements follow them between different employers within the same sector, rather than an employee having to start from zero every time they move employment. Unions have been campaigning a PLSLS for workers in certain industries for a long time. Before the State Election, we reached out to most political parties and independents, urging them to support a PLSLS. Excitingly, a majority of those elected have already pledged their support for the scheme. They include the Labor Party with 10 members, the Greens with 5 members, the Jacqui Lambie Party with 3 members, and independents David O'Byrne and Kristie Johnston. That totals 20 votes out of 35.  Now, we need to rally the support of workers and the community for the scheme so we can hold the elected representatives to account and ensure the Legislative Council passes it, turning it into a reality for workers. So please sign the petition, share it on socials and encourage your colleagues, family members and friends to sign it too. 

Since 2012, Timor-Leste's minimum wage has remained stagnant at USD$115 a month, despite soaring inflation and overwhelming evidence advocating for an increase to prevent further impoverishment. The Timorese National Labour Council, with representatives from the Government, employers, and unions, reached an agreement to raise the minimum wage to USD$150 per month. Regrettably, the increase proposal was rejected by the Government. This sets a precedent that will undermine tripartism in the future, especially as it relates to fixing national minimum wages in Timor Leste. A persistently low minimum wage not only perpetuates continued poverty for low-income workers but also intensifies existing social inequality through a cycle of cheap labour. We, Australian unionists, stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the KSTL, urging the Council of Ministers of Timor-Leste to approve the Proposal for a Decree-Law on the National Minimum Wage, proposing an increase to USD$150 per month. This proposal has widespread support from workers and their families and can alleviate the cost of living.

Since 1961, the UQ Union Complex has served as the heart of UQ's campus community at St Lucia. Over the decades, its activities have profoundly influenced Queensland's culture and politics and hold significant historical importance. Therefore, it has always been in the community's interest to preserve and maintain the space with interior refurbishments rather than a complete transformation, which has been repeatedly proposed. Regrettably, when such repair and maintenance requests have been submitted by the UQ Union, UQ has been slow to respond or ignore the request, resulting in the exacerbation of building damage. When they do take place, they take an unacceptably long time to fix the problem (for example, the Schonell theatre). So, it is no surprise that since 2018, UQ's agenda has focused more on its interest in redeveloping the Union Complex primarily to enhance its aesthetics. Their initial attempt, likened to building a 'shopping mall' on campus, was widely criticised in 2022, leading to an announcement that they would return to 'first principles'. However, their new proposal has not undergone a comprehensive consultation process with the community. There has been a complete lack of transparency regarding the final design and the redevelopment process. Meanwhile, UQ seeks to finalise agreements through the UQ Union, insisting on maintaining confidentiality without engaging in broader consultation with the UQ and Brisbane community. What we know: UQ has been dictating space allocation within the Union Complex, which will reduce the amount of space given to our community-owned outlets. This will have a detrimental effect on the vibrant campus culture these establishments help maintain. The finalized redevelopment plans could potentially disrupt or even lead to the discontinuation of beloved establishments such as Reddo Bar, the Food Co-op shop, On a Roll bakery, and the Main Course. Furthermore, there is no provision for a full commercial kitchen to allow Kampus Kitchen to continue at its current capacity. Again, these decisions have been made without consulting the broader community, further underscoring the need for transparency and inclusive consultation. It is evident that UQ has a new vision for the future of the student commons and Union complex that appears to exclude any input from the community. Their vision risks erasing the culture and legacy of the original complex and disregarding aspects that symbolise the freedom of student expression. Moreover, it threatens to dismantle what remains of the Union Complex's role as a central hub for cultural and arts activities, including previously housing a radio station that once made it the heart of the University of Queensland.