We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Big businesses are making record profits while wages continue to flat-line. Everyday essentials like groceries, petrol, and bills are going up but our wages are not. Every worker should be able to rely on their job to provide wages that will keep up with the cost of living and allow them to save for the future. This year the Australian Services Union is campaigning for a wage increase that keeps up with the cost of living. The Annual Wage Review is the ONLY guaranteed wage increase in the economy. Your pay rise only comes about from union members getting together to win what we need and deserve. The Australian Services Union is your voice for a pay rise. Without a real pay rise delivered now, wages will continue to go backwards. Sign the petition for a 7% pay rise now!

Staff working conditions are student learning conditions. When staff go on strike to get a better deal, they also strike to improve the learning conditions for students. Students should stand in solidarity with staff, and join them in calling on University management for a better deal.

Caleb’s story is a classic case of a client and employer using the labour-hire relationship to trash a worker’s rights. Caleb has now filed an unfair dismissal application in the Fair Work Commission and is being assisted by his union.

The cost of living crisis is far from over. Wage growth is less than half the rate of inflation and prices for essential items continue to soar. And the RBA’s approach to fixing inflation has almost pushed Australian workers and the economy off a cliff. The RBA delivered 10 consecutive interest rate rises in a row, to 3.6% as of March 2023. That means that a worker with a $500,000 mortgage has to find an extra $1,100 per month to cover their repayments. And it's not just homeowners that are having to cough up – people who are renting are feeling the flow-on effect in the form of staggering rent increases and widespread housing availability shortages. Meanwhile, big business profits are going through the roof, and in some cases, outstripping even pre-pandemic levels. This greed-price spiral is what's really driving inflation. Between the RBA and big companies, average Australians are bearing all the pain of a situation they did not cause and have little control over. The RBA has already warned us to brace for more interest rate rises. But we say: Enough. Stop hurting workers.

On 1 June 2023, thousands of young workers’ HECS, HELP and VET student debts will increase by up to $4,000 as we face the biggest hike in decades. This is unfair. Young workers have the highest rates of student debt and the lowest incomes. We need as much money as possible to counter the cost-of-living crisis, buy a home or start a family. We don't have a deep pool of wealth or investment properties to draw on and we’re already losing a huge chunk of our income in student loan repayments. With the budget around the corner, now is the time to put pressure on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to make things fairer for young workers. Long-term, if we want young workers to be able to pay off student debts fairly, we need to index them to wage growth, not inflation. This is a conversation we should be having. But right now, Treasurer Jim Chalmers can stop the squeeze by freezing student debt repayments until the cost of living crisis is over.

Working people are absorbing price increases on everything they buy and spending more of their wages on bills. Meanwhile, company gross operating profits rose 10.6% seasonally adjusted for Dec 2022. The Reserve Bank continues to increase interest rates to tackle inflation, but excess corporate profits account for 69% of additional inflation beyond the RBA’s target. Rising unit labour costs account for just 18% of that inflation. It's time that struggling Australians got their fair share of these massive corporate profits. Pay UP!

The waterways in and around Sydney, as well as the water we drink, are kept safe, clean and affordable by Sydney Water, which operates for the public. Making our harbour, coastline and drinking water a source of profit puts this at risk. If Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals privatise Sydney Water: • Water rates will go up by $264 a year; • Thousands of jobs will be lost; • Our pristine beaches and waterways are at risk. Don’t risk our water. Add your name to send a clear message to the NSW Premier – hands off Sydney Water!

“I have a neurodiverse child with multiple diagnoses. He’s been on a waiting list since before Kindy. We’ve only just been able to start seeing a specialist – but not in Tasmania. We’re seeing a private specialist interstate, via Zoom. We desperately need more Allied Health Professionals to support kids who are doing it tough.” – Thirza, Parent, Secretary (CPSU Tasmania) Allied Health professionals in schools are essential to give kids with learning and developmental disabilities the best start in life. Getting access to quality care early in life gives kids the best chance to adjust, succeed and flourish. An estimated 1 in 20 Australian children struggles with an anxiety disorder¹; 15-20% of Australians has a language-based learning disability². Early years are our first and best chance to give kids dignity and support to succeed. Tasmania also has the third highest rate of children and young people in Out-of-Home Care. Only a fraction of those we miss will ever seek help later in life. They go on struggling, in silence. Getting access to a Social Worker, Speechie or Psychologist early on can make all the difference in the world. “1 in 8 Australian primary school students has a communication disorder of some kind. We have 31 speech pathologists to service every public primary school and support school in the state. That makes our ratio 116 to 1, at best. We’re not talking about a little bit of understaffing - we’re talking about chronic, long-term vacancies.” - Sarah, Advanced Skills Speech & Language Pathologist, Tasmania Please sign our petition to call on Premier Rockliff to ensure Allied Health Professionals in schools, child safety and youth justice aren’t left behind. ¹ https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/children-with-mental-illness ² https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/frequently-asked-questions-2/

Improved wages and conditions for UWA staff will help build a flourishing University delivering better outcomes for students, the sector and the wider local, state and national communities.

The University has claimed that this will help reduce SR workloads but no SRs were consulted on the decision. No students were consulted on the decision! Students won't get locked out less frequently if they are charged more, they will just be more financially strained each time there is a lockout. Students will be incentivised by this change to take risky steps like 'carding' doors, or sleeping in common rooms or others' rooms. The University has not provided any evidence they have investigated these risks to student safety. Many disabled students have also raised concerns that the charge will disproportionally impact them. Forgetfulness is a symptom of many disabilities. ANU already has one of the lowest proportions of low-SES students in the country. Combined with the skyrocketing cost of living on campus, this change makes ANU accomodation increasingly hostile to low-SES students.

The brunt of the rental crisis is affecting low income renters and working class homeowners. Greedy landlords have jacked up prices and refuse to give up their investment properties to renters who need them. Meanwhile, the top four banks in Australia have raked in $2 trillion from household debt after multiple interest rate rises. The real criminals in this crisis are the banks, landlords and the federal and state government's who do nothing. This charge is an extreme measure and another attempt by NSW police to impede on the right to protest in this state. We will not be intimidated, and will continue to campaign on the streets for affordable housing and all other issues of social justice. The housing campaign in NSW is only getting started and housing activists will return tin bigger numbers on the streets of Sydney.

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.