Your collective employment agreement (EBA) has expired meaning you're in an effective pay freeze until a new agreement is negotiated. We want improvments to pay and conditions for all VU members and staff and need you to sign this petition and let VU management know it's time to make a fair deal.

Online options were ‘too hard’ before 2020, and then they came within a week, and then they were taken away as quickly as they were given. Many members of our community depend on these options being available such as those who are immuno-compromised and cannot risk exposure to disease, especially when universities do not have open windows, air purifiers or a mask or vaccine mandate in the classroom. Universal Design (‘UD’) — specifically, Universal Design for Learning (‘UDL’) — is a research-backed pedagogy and curriculum framework which enables equitable access to education for all students, including students with disabilities and other students from diverse, minoritised backgrounds. For disabled students, implementing UDL would ostensibly ensure that they can ‘engage with the curriculum without having to seek adjustments’ (see ‘Recommendations for equitable student support during disruptions to the higher education sector: Lessons from COVID-19,’ Mercer-Mapstone et al 2022,). Hybrid, flexible education — also known as ‘hyflex’ education, as noted in Recommendation 2.1 of the ALSA-AMSA-NUS research report — entails offering educational delivery options for both in-person attendance and Work From Home (‘WFH’). Moreover, hyflex education can facilitate educational participation for not only disabled people but also women escaping domestic family violence (‘DFV’) or sexual assault, First Nations students in regional & rural Australia, international students, and other demographics for whom in-person attendance may not be the most safe & accessible. People from diverse backgrounds have value. Contrary to what many believe, disabled people can (and do) contribute to society and to building a better world. Imagine all the setbacks if Dr Steven Hawking couldn’t come to class because he couldn’t get his wheelchair in the door! Additionally, the tertiary education regulator, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (‘TEQSA’), has announced that they will now enforce the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth) (‘ESOS’). Under ESOS in s 8.19, TEQSA is mandating that no more than a third of the education delivered to overseas students can be online or by distance. This decision from TEQSA means that if international students want to access regional, globally ranked education, they must return to Australia whilst there are COVID-19 outbreaks overseas, a rental shortage of affordable, student housing and a cost-of-living crisis. This forces numerous international students into a tricky conflict between their future and their present happiness. TEQSA doesn’t take individual complaints so the regulator cannot protect international students. That is why the government must step up. Likewise, online learning can be better for university staff. University staff with disabilities also face many of the struggles that disabled students do. Likewise, staff with caring roles for children or other dependents benefit from increased access to them by providing education online. Some universities do not have child-care options after 5pm, meaning that staff cannot afford to work a 9-5 with children because they have to rush to collect them. The higher education system relies on these staff and their incredible work to upskill the next generation.

Regional and local media is more important than ever. Our regional communities need and deserve journalism that is ethical, independent and trustworthy. Australian Community Media - which owns over 100 regional papers including Ballarat's 'The Courier' is trying to cut important conditions from the workers' Enterprise Agreement. One of these cuts includes walking away from the paper's commitment to abide by the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics protects sources, readers and journalists, and upholds journalism we can trust. It requires journalists to report honestly, accurately and independently, and upholds transparency and fairness. Removing it means journalists could be asked to prioritise advertising or commercial interests over accuracy and fairness, disrespect grief and personal privacy, place unnecessary emphasis on race, gender or other personal characteristics, or suppress relevant facts. Journalists at The Courier are fighting to protect their ethics, and they need your support. Sign the petition to tell Australian Community Media to support our community and our stories!

We, members of VAHPA the union for Allied Health Professionals, believe that Monash Health's propsed PAYG model fails to provide adequate parking for staff nor promotes more sustainable transport options. We want a model that is affordable and restricted to reserved staff use only to ensure we can all find a park that is safe and with minimal inconvenience. As a reminder, Monash Health's parking fee proposal is as follows: • $3 for first 4 hours, then 35c per half hour blocks up to 24 hours • No charge if user leaves car park within 15 minutes • Employees will not be disadvantaged if they leave and come back in the 24 hour period or if they travel between sites. • Employees and the general public will also have the option of paying directly via their credit card.

Bus drivers are currently working under immense pressure and poor conditions. They deserve decent conditions, fair pay and to return home safely to their families at the end of the day. Torrens Transit services over 80% of the bus network across Adelaide and the power they hold within the network is immense. Right now, Torrens Transit have a choice: will they be part of the solution and help turn our industry around? Or will they continue to drag their heels in the sand and hang their drivers out to dry? We need to get behind our hardworking bus drivers and let Torrens Transit know we support our drivers in their fight for a fair deal and a better bus industry! This is Our Public Transport Network. It's time to take a stand and turn it around. We must insist that it works for our community and for the people who keep the bus network running - our hardworking drivers.

From wound care, medication assistance to diabetes plans, Enrolled Nurses are essential for the health and safety of our loved ones in aged care. Leisure and Lifestyle workers play a vital role in ensuring older residents have dignity and purpose in their daily lives. They do it all, from outings for meals to co-ordinating the bingo or footy tipping, and running activities in arts, crafts, and music – all the stuff that makes aged care lively and rewarding for our loved ones. Food Services workers do a special and essential job. They make sure all residents get three nutritious meals a day, along with morning and afternoon tea. Lack of a nutrition in diet is already a huge issue in aged care. With these roles already stretched thin, care staff who are expected to do even more work simply won't be able to deliver warm and decent meals and drinks. As a family member I am deeply concerned about what my mother’s care could look like without these workers at SCC. The CEO and the Board should be ashamed. They must resign. Please sign our petition to send a strong message of support to residents, families, and workers alike.

Workers at Pampas have been languishing on labour-hire contracts, working full time, for 10, 15 and up to 20 years whilst being overlooked for permanent positions. Migrant workers like those at Pampas are the backbone of our food manufacturing industry. Workers across Australia are doing it tough, they need fair wages and secure jobs to survive. Pampas needs to come to the table and offer these workers a fair deal now.

Executives at iCare, the NSW Government agency responsible for supporting injured workers, will each be awarded an average $30,000 pay rise with the CEO receiving a $246,508 pay rise to put his salary at over $1 million. This is the reward executives at one of the worst performing government agencies in history get after underpaying 53,000 injured workers a total of $38 million and leaking the private details of almost 200,000 workers. Meanwhile, the Perrottet Government is capping the wages of essential workers below the cost of living after supporting our state through the COVID pandemic. Under the NSW Government, executives and politicians continue to enjoy massive pay rises over and above exhausted essential workers. Essential Workers Deserve Better. Add your name to tell the Perrottet Government to scrap the obscene wage increase and pay essential workers what they’re worth.

Council-run in-home aged care enables those in need to live independently at home for as long possible. Being able to retain a sense of independence is so important for mental and emotional health. Our ageing relatives, friends and neighbours deserve to retain the quality care they get from highly trained council workers. In-home aged care delivered by local government is a hugely valued service. These workers are highly trained, on permanent jobs and liveable wages, who provide care second to none. Their employment conditions mean clients get the kind of continuity of care they asked for during the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety. Council’s direct delivery of this vital community service protects our vulnerable and older residents in their homes. Victorian local government has a proud history of leading the country in delivering quality services into homes in this area and it must be maintained. Any moves to cease direct delivery of this service would have the following consequences: -Reduced provision, lower quality and consistency of care to clients; -Loss of secure jobs; -No minimum qualification requirements, where vulnerable clients will be forced to allow potentially untrained providers into their homes, leaving them significantly vulnerable to abuse; -Loss of a holistic assessment client needs and coordinated or escalated service delivery or referral to match the changing needs of clients; -Loss of integrated services due to lack of participation of private providers in local partnerships, networks and alliances.

The public services we all rely on - schools, hospitals, health care services, courts, child protection, fire and rescue, community services and more - have now faced staffing shortages and under-resourcing for many years, leaving Tasmanians missing out. Record vacancies, and an inability to attract and retain workers threatens to deepen the crisis in our public sector. The workers that carried us through COVID and support us when we need it most are also suffering from the skyrocketing cost of living that is hurting all workers. At the same time, many of Tasmania's public sector workers including firefighters and child safety staff are some of the lowest paid in the country. But they're being insulted by a Premier who fails to recognise that with a fair pay rise. Stand with us to demand a fair go for Tasmania.

Our ambulance response times are the slowest they have ever been. Patients are waiting hours in bed block outside overburdened hospitals. And Paramedics are routinely working through their meal breaks, through fatigue, and into forced overtime. Frontline workers know what’s needed to address this crisis. We need our Government to listen, to make healthcare a priority, and to invest in real solutions to deliver better outcomes. With an election just around the corner, now is the time to put healthcare firmly at the top of the political agenda and make sure your local candidates are committed to real change. Every signature shows our politicians that NSW voters won’t stand for inaction. We deserve better than a system which leaves patients waiting and relies on Paramedics sacrificing their wellbeing. We’re demanding healthcare which delivers on response times, treats each patient with dignity, and doesn’t stand for compromise on Paramedic safety. For more info on our asks: apansw.com.au/we-deserve-better

Every employer has a duty to eliminate occupational health and safety risks as far as is practically possible. Karen’s Diner have done the exact opposite, they have created an unsafe workplace and actively encouraged hazards as part of their business model. That’s why we’re calling on WorkSafe Victoria to investigate Karen’s Diner.