Treasurer Tim Pallas is investigating the sale or part-privatisation of VicRoads. Bringing the private sector into VicRoads will mean job cuts, erosion of services, the closing down of regional offices, and risks to the security of our personal data and the integrity of our information. And workers have seen too many times what happens to wages and conditions of those who keep their jobs when the private sector takes over the management of public services This isn’t what anyone voted for when this Government was re-elected in 2018. Daniel Andrews acknowledged the failures of privatisation just last year, reflecting with the benefit of history on the problems caused by past sell-offs of public assets. We’re asking him to rein in his Treasurer and protect these workers and their communities.

The Independent Education Union - QLD & NT (IEUA-QNT) has been engaged in collective bargaining negotiations with Queensland Catholic school employers since May 2019. In support of their unresolved bargaining claims, union members commenced a series of work bans in November 2019. These included banning attendance at staff meetings, banning additional supervisions and banning employer requests for data. On Friday, 22 November 2019 the employers advised all staff that they would lockout over 7000 teachers and support staff indefinitely with no pay if they continued to apply their lawful work bans. The employers now have the shameful title as the first Catholic school employers in the country to have ever threatened a lockout of their own staff. The Catholic Church has a long history of commentary and advocacy on the dignity of the worker. These teachings support the rights of workers to withdraw their labour. The employers have betrayed not only their workers, but also the very values of the Catholic Church by seeking to intimidate and penalise their staff for taking lawful action. Recent claims by Queensland Catholic school employers of having 'no intention to lockout employees' are inaccurate. By seeking to invoke section 471(4) of the Fair Work Act against employees (who undertake work bans), employers refuse to “accept the performance of any work by the employee”. The employer action would mean that employees undertaking the work bans would be excluded from work and effectively the school site. What is needed for Catholic school staff: * We call on Queensland Catholic school employers to immediately withdraw their threat to lockout their employees undertaking lawful work bans. * We call on Queensland Catholic school employers to uphold established Catholic Church teachings regarding the dignity of the worker to be free from threats, coercion and duress. * We call on Queensland Catholic school employers to bargain in good faith with Catholic school employees to resolve remaining issues of workload and wage parity.

Cleaners at Queen Vic Market ensure that it remains clean and safe. Sacking three quarters of the cleaning workforce will mean a serious reduction in the cleanliness of the markets. These cleaners have worked here loyally for many years and have expert knowledge that cannot be easily replaced. Without these cleaners Queen Vic Market won't be the thriving hub it has been. We need Jane Fenton to act now.

Lactalis is one of the biggest dairy companies in the world. They are making mega profits. Yet we are barely surviving on their poverty wages. We can only just afford to pay our rent, soon we won’t be able to even afford to put petrol in the car to get to work. Women at our site have had to get second jobs as cleaners and gardeners just to get by. In the packing department, where a majority of women work, we aren’t even able the higher classification levels. We deserve to be paid equally to other workers. It’s only fair.

The Morrison Government is set to make a decision on whether to relocate full-cycle docking of the Collins-class submarines from Osborne shipyard in South Australia to Henderson in WA. Each Collins-class submarine goes through this maintenance every 10 years to ensure they remain at the cutting edge of defence technology, and each maintenance fit-out will typically take two years. It is in the national interest to bring full cycle docking to WA to diversify Australia’s Defence infrastructure in case of an emergency situation. South Australian workers are contracted to design and build nine Hunter-class frigates over the next 15-20 years, and the 12 Attack-class submarines to be delivered in the early 2030s.  Having both manufacturing and maintenance of these national assets in one place means a greater risk in an emergency. We need to do what is in the national interest and diversify these skills across the country, to build resilience for our navy-  especially in a situation where Australia might have to defend itself.  Western Australia has the workers, the skills and the capability to take on full-cycle docking in Henderson by 2024.  It is also where the submariners are based, which means greater operating efficiency in the Indian Ocean, an area of increasing strategic importance.

I'm one of dozens of current and former Mecca employees that have been on the receiving end of bullying, intimidation, discrimination and favouritism whilst working in their store. After just a few weeks of working at Mecca I began to dread going to work. I was bullied and ridiculed by managers over trivial issues, often on the shop floor in front of customers. After a month and a half I raised concerns with my line manager about the bullying I was experiencing, and shortly after I was fired from Mecca. Mecca Brands have been named the fourth best place to work in 2019 but the façade as the greatest place to work is not the case. Mecca workers, most of whom are young women in their 20s, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Mecca has a legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment and they are falling well short. The problem must be fixed from the top. Jo Horgan can fix this problem. She can weed out bullying and discriminatory behaviour and put an end to it. The community is now watching to see that workers have a safe and discrimination-free workplace. Mecca workers have broken their silence, read more here: https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/its-all-fake-beauty-giant-mecca-facing-bullying-claims-20191117-p539q4.html

I joined Blockade IMARC alongside mob from across the country to stand in solidarity with one another to resist the same mining companies we are fighting on our traditional lands. The cops arrested and roughed me up behind the scenes: “I was snatched by the police when I was standing well back and dragged inside and they purposely slammed my head against walls and doors out of the public view with body cameras turned off.” In the aftermath, Dan Andrews has defended the actions of the police. Many arrestees at Blockade IMARC are now faced with huge legal bills. Please chip in to help a legal defence fund that has been setup to support over 80 arrestees like myself defend ourselves in court: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-activists-arrested-at-mining-conference

When the rich and powerful want to get their message across, they buy a billboard, or a TV station, or a politician. For the rest of us, we cannot even hold a placard without facing fines. City of Perth by-laws prohibit the "display [of] a hand held sign on ... a public place [without approval]". They also prohibit handing out leaflets without a permit. These permits can cost hundreds of dollars, can be restricted by time and location, and there is no obligation on the council to approve a permit. These by-laws are archaic and contravene our basic human right to free speech. Furthermore, the City of Perth use their own discretion in how they apply the by-laws. They are the ones with a discretion to pick and choose what issues they will tolerate and what they will not. The council should not have the final say over public debate. At a time of worsening inequality and racism, and climate crisis, we need more free speech and public debate, not activism being shut down. Please also support this GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-activists-fined-for-expressing-free-speech?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2B4803-donation-alert-v5

Wage growth in Australia is at an all-time low. Working families are struggling to make ends meet. Now Scott Morrison's LNP want to make things even harder for working people. The laws they want to introduce will make it harder for working people to seek fair pay rises and decent conditions, and at the same time, give big business more power. Senators Hanson and Roberts and the rest of the crossbench can do the right thing and vote no to these laws.

A certain conservative Senator decided recently to write to the City of Perth to ask them to cancel Drag Queen Storytime, describing it as "age-inappropriate, gender-based activism". It's important that the City of Perth Commissioners understand that his views are those of a conservative minority not reflective of the people of Perth. The Senator wants to pander to his base by using a fun and harmless LGBTIQA+ event to drive division and bigotry in the community. We can't let him succeed in shutting it down.

One women is killed in Australia per week. This is worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. How can we even begin to get this number under control if we can't talk about the root issues? We needs shows like Q&A as a forum for experts to discuss the need for action, and the best solutions. Removing the episode shows a capitulation to men's rights activists and white nationalists who don't want women, non-binary people and people of colour to be safe or have any rights in Australia. The ABC must bring back this important episode of Q&A!

We cannot achieve a just transition to a new low-emissions economy without ensuring good union jobs in new low-emissions industries. More information is available in the report Putting the Justice in ‘Just Transition’: Tackling inequality in the new renewable economy, https://is.gd/rkLOJY