The Social Research Centre, a call centre located within inner city Melbourne, has been woefully unprepared for the recent unfolding CO-VID 19 crisis. The company, known for working on large scale government projects, has only in the past week implemented any social distancing and proper hygiene policy within the call centre, prior to this they failed to even provide alcohol-based sanitising wipes for equipment. The 200+ casual workforce has been given no clarity on what will happen with their jobs. The company has rejected calls to provide paid leave and allow employees to self isolate. Instead it gives vague promises that employees will be able to work from home without having any system in place to implement this. There is a social responsibility for all businesses and individuals to help ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19, to ensure hospitals are able to cope with the demand for treatment. Flattening the curve requires the implementation of social distancing measures which cannot be adhered to within the close proximity working environment of the call centre, especially considering the virus can live on plastic surfaces (like booths, headsets and computers) for up to 72 hours. Call centres are a known incubator of the virus, and workers are at particularly high risk not just of contracting COVID-19, but also transmitting it to a large number of people. The Social Research Centre clearly understands the importance of social distancing to protect employees and the wider community. This is evident in the fact that the staff at the Social Research Centre's office on Williams St are all working from home. We are asking this regard for workplace safety extends to the casual workers in the call centre. The company's response to the demand of paid leave, supported by the overwhelming majority of your workforce, has been unsatisfactory, with no attempt made to negotiate or evidence shown to back claims of insufficient funds. Centrelink is insufficient for many of your employees, such as those who are not Australian nationals, under 22, or new applicants who will likely be waiting more than two weeks to receive their first payment. Sign now to demand the Social Research Centre closes the unsafe call centre office and supports workers with special paid leave.

We need to ensure that all nurses, midwives and personal care workers have access to appropriate leave during the current pandemic. This enables them avoid being financially disadvantaged when taking the necessary precautions in order to care for the community and keep us safe. Sign this petition to show your support to providing access to 15 days paid special leave for all nurses, midwives and personal care workers affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our union’s primary concern is that schools cannot currently meet either their legislative Work, Health and Safety (WHS) obligations or their duty of care to both their employees and students while the school term continues.

People are dying in govt state homes due to not being able to control there body temperature because the Qld state government won’t install air conditioning into government housing. https://youtu.be/t-o-4xXMoM8 Also it’s unfair that homeowners are paying next to nothing for electricity because of solar panels and the Qld state is giving them all the rewards. For equality the low income earner should also be entitled to this as well. For those who are homeowners please read the article because there’s something in there for you that will also benefit you. Thank you and keep safe. https://youtu.be/Htfbo3A6BzQ http://3quotes.com.au/news/3-int-13-geo/index.html

Online and remote teaching is not equivalent to the service obtained from in-person classes. Students should not have to pay thousands of dollars in already-exorbitant fees for an educational service which is fundamentally different. International students, and students moving from interstate, did not pay large sums of money for learning to be delivered remotely. In the midst of a global health crisis, universities must use their vast sums of money to support all students – fee refunds now!

Working Australians have been dealt a body blow by the impact of the coronavirus. Millions of workers are facing the very real prospect of losing their job and they need the government to act. Sign our petition and tell the Morrison government it must provide a guaranteed wage subsidy to all working people immediately to save jobs. Other countries' governments have already done this. The UK government is guaranteeing 80% of people's wages. It’s time Scott Morrison gave Australian workers the same assurance that they are not being abandoned. Scott Morrison has announced a wage subsidy for Australian workers, but it excludes 500,000 casuals and over 1 million temporary visa holders. Let the Prime Minister know that it is only by keeping people in jobs that the future of Australian workers, their families and their communities can be secured. If we guarantee wages now we will keep people in jobs and out of welfare. Sign the petition for a guaranteed wage subsidy and let Scott Morrison know Australian workers need a government that puts the well-being of workers first.

This can happen to any visa holder. If you are charged with a crime you did not commit in Queensland you have three options. 1. Accept visa cancellation and deportation without conviction. 2. Accept a criminal conviction and deportation without trial. 3. Wait for in excess of four years remanded in custody, or in immigration detention for a trial date. Whilst you wait for four years you are unable to work and support your family. On conviction in Queensland, most people charged with murder are convicted of Manslaughter, and are sentenced to 8-9 years (2.5-4.5 years of which will be served in prison). This means someone wrongly accused of a crime who is a visa holder, on the most trivial charge, spends longer detained or incarcerated than almost any convicted person except convicted Murderers. This is unlawful, but is accepted best practice in Queensland. Surely no visa should be cancelled prior to a conviction bring recorded. Also a charge may never exceed 12 months progressing to trial for a detained or remanded person. Further, time in detention awaiting trial, should never exceed the base (incarcerated) sentence, let alone the head sentence. The Crown (Federal Government) interfering in a Queensland charge, by cancelling the visa of a defendant was expressly protected at the time the Criminal Code was written. Now QLD Police request that the Federal Government cancel any charged persons visa, as it gains them an insurmountable advantage. Clough v Leahy, Griffith CJ, speaking for the Court, had said[200]: "Nor can the Crown interfere with the administration of the course of justice. It is not to be supposed that the Crown would do such a thing; but, if persons acting under a Commission from the Crown were to do acts which, if done by private persons, would amount to an unlawful interference with the course of justice, the act would be unlawful, and would be punishable."

When there's a crisis, we can only rely on public pathology and health services to protect the community. Thanks to our world class public pathology service, South Australia is testing more people for COVID-19 than any state.  Tell Steven Marshall to keep South Australians healthy, and rule out any plans to privatise SA Pathology now!

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the social inequality many young people have experienced for too long. While the world tries to manage an unfolding pandemic, this crisis has led to insecurity in housing, income, and study without action from our government. This crisis will affect all aspects of the lives of students and young people. Casual workers, most of whom are students, have no guarantee that they will get paid if their workplace is to shut down or they must self-isolate. Working people need to know they don’t have to make the decision between going to work sick, or self-isolating and not being able to pay their bills. At Universities, our campuses are closing and moving online, while ongoing fears about fees and future of study, especially for international students, remain unaddressed. So many questions remain unanswered, but what we know is that if this continues, bills will stack up, evictions will occur, and income support payments will be lost. In its silence, our government is finalising a generation of inequality for today’s young people. As they move towards announcing their second stimulus package, young workers and students are begging for support. The Morrison government is yet to respond to our concerns. Instead, focusing on lining the pockets of business and giving out one off welfare payments that will fail to bring students out of poverty. Students and young people cannot continue to be left behind. This statement is endorsed by dozens of student representatives from around the country, representing hundreds of thousands of students whose livelihoods and futures are under threat. We are demanding action. The government must finally take leadership during this crisis and support the Australians who have been forgotten. Workers, students, and young people need action to protect their income, housing, and study. To fail at this now will hurt this nation for years to come.

Monash University has not adequately supported students through the Covid-19 crisis. Communication of course changes come late if at all, learning formats are changed suddenly with little preparation, and overwhelmingly, there is a sense among students that the University is not prioritising them. We deserve better. Mismanagement at this time has, and will continue to have, disastrous consequences for students at all stages of their courses.

We need this government to step up and ensure all workers who are unable to work because of Coronavirus have access to special paid leave, and are not left out of pocket.

Without support, many of our beloved hospitality businesses will cease to exist in the very near future. Signing this petition and challenging these companies to consider the greater good of the industry and the wider community, will help to keep small business open and some of the hardest working people in the jobs they dearly love. Hospitality folk, lets band together and support each other however and wherever possible! Our beloved customers, please support your local. Stay safe, everyone.