Essential workers have continued to turn up to work throughout the pandemic. Already there have been over 700 public servants and disability workers infected with COVID-19 at work with disability workers also infected. Already we have seen PSA members in Disability group homes, Juvenile Justice, NSW Prisons, Private Prisons, transport, and now we are experiencing 100s of school closures and exposures. From the start of the pandemic there has been presumptive legislation to support essential workers when they get COVID with workers compensation, without the impossible task of having to prove you got it at work. This protects the following workers: -public health employees, -disability facilities, -educational institutions, including pre-schools, schools and tertiary institutions -police and emergency services -transport services, -libraries, -courts and tribunals, -correctional centres and detention centres, -places of public entertainment or instruction (including, museums, galleries, cultural institutions and casinos), The government has introduced a Bill to repeal these laws, which will mean that if you get COVID at work, you have to prove that you got it at work. The NSW Government has said that this change may take over $600 million out of the hands of injured workers and cut 75% of these claims. These cuts passed the lower house in November with all the Government members. The Bill has been referred to the Upper House Committee where it is likely to be voted on in February.

CSR's offer is downright offensive. It does not meet CPI and is well below industry standard in comparison to major competitors Boral and Etex who recently awarded workers a 4% and 3.5% increase respectively. CSR is now the biggest player in the industry with the lowest paid workforce. CSR could end all of this by paying its workers what they deserve. Thanks to the efforts of workers, profits have skyrocketed by 30% in just half a year. That’s $86.6 million lining the pockets of CSR’s wealthy shareholders and executives. And yet, no one has seen a cent of it except the big wigs. CSR boss Julie Coats has pocketed over $1 million in bonuses! Management has also threatened to cancel workers’ approved leave over Christmas, forcing them to work over the holidays. Taking away workers’ pay is one thing, but taking away their family time away is another. Shame, CSR! Stand with CSR workers and help end this bitter and pointless pay dispute before Christmas. Workers are depending on their income to put food on the table and presents under the tree.

Poor oral hygiene can lead to dental cavities and gum disease, and has also been linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Access to dental care should not depend on your bank account. Sign this petition for equitable access to dental care.

Our Mallee and Mildura retail, hospitality, accommodation and events industries are the main employers in our rural economies and desperately need an inflow of people as both consumers and workers. This dire economic situation completely alters the previous exclusive mantra that freight and products must be prioritised to the exclusion of a direct and affordable public transport of people. People have suddenly become the most pressing commodity for the survival of many businesses. People also need the affordable family connectivity that in turn would attract tree-changers.

When companies terminate workplace agreements, they cut all the conditions and wage increases that workers have fairly bargained for over decades. If the modest pay and conditions of Tuftmaster Carpets workers can be cut like this then it could happen to any worker on a workplace agreement in any industry. We must stand in solidarity with Tuftmaster Carpets workers to stop this from happening here but also to send a signal that we will not tolerate cuts to pay and conditions to any worker. Don’t let Tuftmaster sweep workers' rights under the rug.

1. MAJOR STUDENT WELLBEING CUTS AT MACQUARIE Macquarie University management are moving to further cut Student Wellbeing services at Macquarie University (with numerous positions being axed and/or downgraded - roles such as Psychologists, Disability Liaison Officers, Accessibility Officers, Student Wellbeing Advisors, Student Advocates, Inappropriate / Unwanted Behaviour Officer, and administrative staff). These latest cuts are on top of extensive job losses to Student Wellbeing services which management implemented in late 2020, with nine positions cut, and numerous essential vacant positions unfilled by the University. 2. THREAT TO COMPLIANCE Student Wellbeing services at Macquarie University are woefully understaffed, and the lack of resources threatens compliance with the Disability Standards for Education and Higher Education Threshold Standards. Proposed resourcing is well below established standards according to the Counselling Standards published by ANZSSA. 3. TWO PERMANENT PSYCHOLOGISTS FOR 45,000 STUDENTS Management is seeking to resource only two (2) permanent Psychologists for a University that has approximately 45,000 domestic and international students, this is severely inadequate. 4. CUTS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT SUPPORT Resources are being cut for the vital ‘Respect. Now. Always.’ service which is designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault matters, discrimination, harassment and bullying. 5. STUDENT NEEDS ARE INCREASING The number of students self-reporting a health condition has increased year on year since 2019, and staff are already struggling to keep up with student demand for wellbeing supports. 6. LOWEST IN SECTOR While other Universities are investing in student wellbeing, Macquarie University’s cuts will see students receiving some of the lowest levels of support in the sector. 7. STAFF AND STUDENTS OPPOSE THESE CHANGES These cuts highlight a critical need to strengthen the Enterprise Agreement provisions for professional staff at Macquarie University. The University is proceeding with harmful restructuring despite widespread and extensive feedback from staff and students opposing the attack on Student Wellbeing. For More Information: * Dec 2021 - Staffing cuts are out of touch with the “Australian Disability Strategy 2021-2031” committed to by the Prime-Minister and Premier of NSW on 3 December 2021, including Policy Priority 3 “Improve pathways and accessibility to further education and training for people with disability” - https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/document/3106 * 15 Nov 2021 - "NTEU Response to PST Change Proposals: Student Services and Faculty Professional Services" provides a detailed overview of the proposed cuts to staffing at Macquarie University (including for Student Wellbeing). https://www.nteu.org.au/library/download/id/11356 * Nov 2021 – University of Melbourne paper: "Alleviating the human cost of COVID-19 in Australian universities" highlights the need “to increasingly focus on wellbeing, support, inclusion and trust for both staff and students; this will be a key ingredient to a vibrant and healthy higher education system.” https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3962831/human-cost-of-covid-in-aus-unis.pdf

Luckily, in Scott Morrison we have a true champion of the super-yachting-community. Scott. Sco-Mo. Maaaate. What's a few million bucks of Australians' taxes between friends? Especially since you know we have your back at the next election.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) review into Ambulance Victoria (AV) has found bullying, discrimination, victimisation, and sexual harassment are rife throughout the service. "We heard that some leaders at Ambulance Victoria – including senior leaders, managers, and other senior staff – are undermining organisational messaging on a commitment to workplace equality and respectful behaviour by displaying incivility or unlawful workplace behaviours and by failing to call out this behaviour when it occurs." (Page 296, VEOHRC Independent Review into Workplace Equality in Ambulance Victoria) AV staff have bravely spoken out about nepotism and discrimination, and no amount of policy and procedure can create a safe workplace when senior leaders who fostered this culture of workplace harm are in power. "We also heard that individuals who were known to have perpetrated unlawful conduct in the past at Ambulance Victoria had been promoted to positions of authority." (Page 281 VEOHRC review) To rebuild trust within AV, senior leaders responsible for fostering the “boys club” and offering promotion and protection to bullies, should be investigated and their employment terminated. Within AV’s latest People Matters Survey, only 34% of staff said they believed senior leaders demonstrate honesty and integrity. AV senior leadership has scored the lowest out of 17 Victorian public sector health organisations on integrity, honesty, inclusion and support. (Page 53, People Matters Survey) 5 of the 6 drivers of unlawful and harmful workplace conduct at AV are attributable to the AV Executive. (Page 278 VEOHRC review) A fundamental shift in culture requires an equally large shift in the senior leadership at Ambulance Victoria to lead the service out of the dark. The committed members of AV’s workforce who have endured years of inaction need to see change today.

Logan is an amazing community filled with people from various walks of life. We are all family, and Christmas is a time for bringing family together - and every family deserves a dazzling Christmas!

How can the senior executive claim they want a fair and “collaborative” approach to bargaining when they have withdrawn their support of the NTEU at such a crucial time? How is it appropriate to finance management’s negotiating team with University funds, while cutting support from the NTEU during bargaining?

There is a high population of students from a variety of ethnic and migrant backgrounds who deserve a safe space to feel supported and validated in their time on campus. In 2020, UTS had 46,382 students enrolled and of those students, 13,963 were international students, 47% of students spoke languages other than English at home and 48% were born outside of Australia. Experiences of racial discrimination are common among students of colour, however, only 300 complaints have been reported to the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion entirely with an even smaller amount of these complaints being relevant to racial discrimination. The equity complaint sector itself is a relatively new sector with minimal data and offering students a space to explore the options available to them is vital. It is important for the plight of racial justice to extend beyond merely celebrating diversity. For an authentic sense of inclusion to be fostered, it is required of institutions to implement systems of support for bipoc students. The introduction of a safe space for the Ethnocultural Collective would allow students of colour the chance and space to discuss, dissect and reflect on their experiences by connecting with other students who face similar barriers and difficulties. This would also allow space for students of colour to raise awareness among students and pointing them towards processes of resolve in the face of discrimination and utilise the complaint system that is currently existent, but not particularly accessible. Urging the need for an allocated room and therefore Ethnocultural safe space, is the University Senior Executives’ plans for the “phased reactivation” of campus, as quoted in Andrew Parfitt, Provost and Senior Vice-President’s email sent to students on Monday the 11th of October 2021. With the reactivation and reopening of campus, comes the obligation of UTS Senior Executive to fast-track the bureaucratic process, and align the Ethnocultural safe space’s establishment with the return of students to campus. An Ethnocultural safe space would improve the campus experience for students of colour by firstly cultivating an active, ‘sticky campus’; but also filling the gaps that the university’s formal complaints processes aren’t able to address for students of Colour. Ultimately, a safe space would give students an outlet to express frustrations and anxieties of systemic and interpersonal racism, resulting in improved student wellbeing.

The Australian Parliament will vote on these laws in the next two weeks. We need you to add your voice to hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations who have called for the rejection of Scott Morrison’s undemocratic laws. There are already enough barriers to casting a vote in an election, especially if you live in a remote community. This is not the answer. Will you sign this petition to help us stop Scott Morrison’s undemocratic laws?