Successful Campaigns

AEU TAFE members have secured an in-principle agreement with teachers to receive at least a 21% pay increase and more manageable workloads, among other improvements. It goes to show that when we campaign we win.

After a five day strike, journalists at Nine Publishing have accepted a vastly improved offer from management. Public support for quality journalism by signing the Don’t Torch Journalism petition was crucial to this win by members of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance.

The largest dairy strike in living memory has ended after 1400 dairy workers won secure, sustainable jobs and a cost-of-living pay increase, helping to keep the dairy industry as the lifeblood of regional communities. The two-day strikes last week at 13 sites disrupted supplies of dairy goods, limits were imposed on milk in some supermarkets and farmers reported hundreds of thousands of litres of milk tipped down the drain. A six-day strike of 300 dairy workers from Saturday was avoided yesterday (EDS: Thursday) when major processor Fonterra reached an in-principle deal with United Workers Union delegates after protracted talks. The vast bulk of the 1400 dairy workers won a 5 per cent pay rise in the first year, going some way to address the cost-of-living crisis as workers face persistent inflation above 5 per cent and the prospect of yet another mortgage rate rise. These workers’ first-year pay rise doubles the 2.5 per cent dairy workers received as they helped their companies out during the pandemic. “These are working people in regional areas who have shown great courage in standing up to large multinational dairy companies,” United Workers Union National Secretary Tim Kennedy said today. “They were fighting not just for themselves, but for secure jobs in regional communities where every dollar they spend goes back into those communities. “Their fight also gave a national platform in the battle for profitable companies to pay a fair share of their profits to help workers address the cost-of-living crisis. “Dairy worker pay rises of up to 14 per cent over three years dwarf previous company offers as low as 8.25 per cent before workers went on strike. “Also importantly, workers have won measures that are important to them and their communities. “These measures include five days of paid emergency services leave at both Saputo and Fonterra, allowing volunteers to fight natural disasters occurring in their communities.” In the case of Fonterra’s talks yesterday, delegates will be putting to dairy workers an offer of 5 per cent in the first year, 4 per cent in the second year and 3 per cent in the third year, up from 10.5 per cent across three years before the strike. The offer includes improved personal leave and shift allowances. Mr Kennedy said he hoped the secure regional jobs won by dairy workers would support a dairy industry that is in crisis, with milk production crashing from 11 billion litres in 2019 to 8 billion litres now. “The strike action has shown dairy workers are prepared to stand up and fight for their place in the dairy industry, and the importance of the dairy industry in their local communities,” Mr Kennedy said. “We have been working on longer-term planning about how every player – the dairy farmers, the processors, the community and the workers – can be part of a sustainable dairy industry and make sure the dairy industry remains the heartbeat of regional communities. “We think part of the answer is making sure multinational companies are listening to their regional communities, and keeping their connections to the local farming industry. “To do that, we also think it’s important to ensure the price of milk remains fair, and that means challenging the power of the big supermarket duopoly to set low prices when milk supply is high. “We are also calling on the Federal and State Governments to include our voice at the table when major issues relating to the dairy industry are considered.”

SafeWork Australia agreed to the recommendation and the new limit came into effect 18 January 2024.

The Australian Education Union Victorian Branch has welcomed the announcement that the Andrews Government will not cut visiting teacher positions. Education Minister Hutchins has listened to the calls of AEU members, parents/carers, and schools, with the decision ensuring that public school students with significant additional needs will continue to receive the critical education and support provided by visiting teachers. “This is an important win for our members and the students, their families, and schools they work with. AEU members are congratulated for all their efforts to campaign against these cuts. “By highlighting the important role visiting teachers play in our schools, we have been able to ensure the continuation of this important program,” said Victorian Branch President Meredith Peace. “Visiting teachers are expert, specialised teachers who play a crucial role in our public schools and help ensure that students in need get the supports they require to thrive academically and socially. “We are pleased the Minister has genuinely engaged with the AEU, parents, disability advocacy groups, families and the community and taken this proposal off the table. “And this Union win ensures that visiting teachers will continue to play an important role across Victoria’s public schools,” Ms Peace said.

The Governance Review didn't end up coming to a vote (so we won...for now). We started a new campaign for 2025 with some other issues we're fighting on.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has listened to the voices of workers and everyday Australians, announcing a 0.25% interest rate cut. This decision is a step in the right direction, offering much-needed relief to households struggling with rising costs. While this is an important win, we know the fight isn’t over. We’ll continue pushing for fairer economic policies that put people before profits.

The Queensland Government has banned the introduction of legislation changing the right to an abortion in Queensland. Protecting the right to an abortion in Queensland. While we have protected reproductive rights from going backwards this election, we will continue to remain vigilant and advocate for increased access to reproductive healthcare for all Queenslanders. A full statement from QCU General Secretary Jacqueline King can be found here: https://qldunions.com/statement-reproductive-rights/

In December 2024 Ahpra announced that as of July 1, 2025 that they will provide a (not as good as we would like but still a win) retrospective rebate for individual healthcare workers who have a period of 6 months or more absent from practising during the preceding 12 month registration period due to a protected characteristic (parental leave, disability).

We won! With workers sticking together and so much community support, workers at Zerella are now negotiating their very first union agreement!