The Australian Unions Support Centre provides free and confidential assistance and information for all workplace issues. We’re here to provide support, regardless of your job or industry. All Support Centre enquiries are 100% confidential.
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The gender pay gap now at its lowest point ever at 11.5%. If we continue to progress as we are, the gender pay gap in Australia could close completely within nine years.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/11/19/20-reasons-why-the-gender-pay-gap-is-closing-faster/
Thanks to new laws which union members won this year, gig economy workers are entitled to the pay, rights and benefits that other workers enjoy.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/11/04/new-rights-and-protections-for-gig-economy-workers/
Business groups are lobbying Peter Dutton and the Coalition to cut workers’ pay and conditions ahead of the federal election.
Here we summarise some of the key recent wins. Plus you can check out our updated factsheets covering workplace discrimination, labour hire, types of employment, and casual workers.
If annual wage growth had continued at the same low rate as under the last Coalition government, the average Australian worker’s wages or salary would be $4,700 less today.
Happy 26 August! Today, new work rights come into force across Australia. Here’s what they are, why they are so important and how to make the most of them.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/08/26/new-work-rights-from-today/
In the last two years, the union movement has won the biggest changes to workers’ rights in this country in generations. Here’s what changes are coming into effect on 26 August 2024.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/08/20/new-work-rights-whats-changing-on-26-august/
Union members are using new union-won laws to secure better pay and conditions for thousands of workers across workplaces and industries.
Australian women are retiring years before they planned to due to a lack of workplace support to address the symptoms of menopause and other reproductive health conditions.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/08/05/union-members-campaign-paid-reproductive-leave/
In the last two years, the union movement has won the biggest changes to workers’ rights in this country in generations. These changes deliver new and improved rights that empower millions of workers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/07/30/new-union-won-rights-at-work-what-you-need-to-know/
Peter Dutton has already committed to turning secure jobs into casual jobs, repealing the right to disconnect and standing against minimum standards for gig workers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/07/11/dutton-is-coming-for-your-workplace-protections/
From 1 July 2024, the amount of Paid Parental Leave new parents can access increased from 20 to 22 weeks.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/07/08/paid-parental-leave-now-at-22-weeks/
Today’s the start of a new financial year, and a number of changes that benefit workers – and workers’ wallets – have come into effect.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/07/04/union-members-win-change-this-financial-year/
In just over one week, millions of workers across Australia will start to see a boost to their pay packets and increased safety in their workplaces.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/06/20/six-wins-for-workers-to-celebrate-on-1-july/
This year union members are calling for workers in key low-paid feminised industries to receive an interim pay rise of 9%.
This week, union members announced that we are calling for a 5% increase to help with the cost-of-living and make sure we’re getting our share of the profits we create.
A new report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work confirms that increasing the minimum wage is the right thing to do in this cost-of-living crisis, and there is no risk of an increase triggering inflation.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/03/22/heres-how-your-wages-could-be-going-up/
Did you see the gender pay gap figures that were announced yesterday? It happened because unions fought – and won – to bring in new laws that force companies to publicly disclose the difference between male and female workers’ earnings. The numbers tell us that we’ve come a long way, particularly in the last few…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/02/28/gender-pay-gap-the-lowest-on-record/
Twelve migrant women workers are suing their employer, Perfection Fresh, for failing to provide a safe working environment and enabling sexual harassment.
There are thousands of casual workers who work regular, ongoing hours – often for years – but are are stuck in insecure work. These are some of their stories.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/02/13/bringing-together-the-stories-of-casual-workers/
The first part of the Closing Loopholes Bill was a monumental achievement that won vital changes for working people. Part two is just as important.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/02/12/closing-gig-economy-and-casual-loopholes-in-2024/
Thanks to new right to disconnect laws to come into effect later this year, all workers will have the right to say no to unreasonable demands to stay digitally connected to their employer and work outside regular work hours.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/02/09/workers-win-the-right-to-disconnect/
Less than 5% of casual workers who want permanent jobs can secure one. The second part of the Closing Loopholes Bill includes much-needed changes that will re-balance the relationship between casual workers and employers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/01/22/casualties-of-a-broken-system/
Part one of the Closing Loopholes Bill has passed the Senate, delivering a much-needed win for Australian workers heading into the holiday season.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/12/20/new-laws-passed/
Mining industry profits are so huge that these companies could easily afford to give every worker in Australia a cost-of-living pay rise of 6%, and still hold onto their crown as Australia’s most profitable industry.
Delegates are the elected representatives of workers in a workplace, serving as a voice for workers when issues arise, and opening lines of communication between workers and employers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/11/17/closing-the-loopholes-to-empower-workplace-delegates/
Share your messages of support with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
This week, 1400 striking workers in the Victorian dairy industry have set a powerful example of what workers can achieve when they stand together and take action.
The Closing Loopholes bill was introduced by the Albanese Government in the face of massive price gouging and profiteering by big business that caused a massive inflation spike. The new laws will increase job security, help stop wage theft, make workplaces safer, and help get wages moving again.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/10/17/lets-get-wages-moving-again-close-the-loopholes/
On Saturday 14 October, Australia will have the opportunity to vote in a once-in-a-generation referendum. The question is a simple one and proposes a modest change to our constitution – to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the practical form of a Voice to Parliament.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/09/26/its-time-to-listen-by-saying-yes/
In a historic victory for unionists and workers, the Federal Court’s ruling was upheld: Qantas are responsible for the largest case of illegal sackings in Australia’s history, and it’s time for them to take responsibility.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/09/18/qantas-high-court-ruling-in-favour-of-workers/
New laws, designed to make workplaces fairer and safer for workers, have been introduced by the Albanese Government in Parliament this week.
Whether your pay is getting a bump up and by how much depends on a few different factors. Here are three steps to help you figure out how much to expect in your next pay cycle.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/06/30/youre-set-to-get-more-pay-in-july-heres-how-to-check/
“When you get on an aircraft, every crew member could be on a completely different pay scale.”
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/06/06/how-can-staff-be-paid-more-than-their-managers/
Today is an important day for workers’ rights. It’s the day that major parts of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws come into effect. These laws were passed by the Albanese Labor Government at the end of last year after tireless campaigning by workers in unions. The new laws today will help unions negotiate higher…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/06/06/today-workers-in-australia-have-brand-new-rights/
Good news! Around one in four workers in Australia have just won a pay rise. Find out if you’re one of them.
Australian unions have just helped secure wage increases between 5.75% and 8.6% for millions of workers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/06/02/weve-won-a-pay-rise-for-millions-of-workers-today/
Here are the six things you need to know about how everyone benefits from fair pay rises.
If superannuation was paid on pay day, it would be a lot easier for you to spot missing super.
For workers who rely on minimum wages, the sheer cost of living doesn’t mean missing out on takeaway coffee or streaming services. Those things are already long gone. It means cutting back on basic needs because there’s nothing else left to cut.
In most circumstances, superannuation is paid on your annual leave, sick leave and long service leave. But did you know that when you take paid parental leave, you don’t get any super?
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/03/07/the-march-forward-to-super-on-paid-parental-leave/
ACTU Indigenous Officer Lara Watson joined us on The Bulletin this week, to share what a win for “Yes” in the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum would mean for her as a proud Birri Gubba woman. Later this year, the Australian public – some for their first ever voting experience – will be asked if…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/03/03/yes-unions-for-a-voice-to-parliament/
Interest Rates Rise A couple weeks ago, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates for the ninth consecutive time. It was news delivered along with a grim warning. It wouldn’t be the last of such increases; there were several more to come. RBA Governor Phil Lowe sticks by his decision and is quick to remind…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/02/20/rates-railroads-and-relief-for-refugees/
How have we reached this point? Because wage growth has looked like a bumpy footpath for the past decade while corporate profits have scaled mountains.
The other day I was perusing OECD’s dataset on the gender pay gap. The bar representing Australia was disconcertingly far to the right end of the graph; Australia had one of the widest disparities between women’s and men’s earnings in the OECD, at over 14 per cent. Today as I idly find the same graph,…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/02/14/were-winning-for-women/
Nowhere in any of those meetings, were any workers for the company made aware of a substance called silica.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/12/08/the-silent-silicosis-epidemic/
A change in work laws means you might well be about to get a well-deserved pay increase.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/12/08/new-work-laws-provide-three-boosts-to-workers/
It’s a shocking figure that has gained massive media attention, making headlines in the ABC and the Guardian. Even The Australian understands that one in four Australian skipping meals means we need urgent reform.
If nothing changes, we will continue to see educators leave the sector in droves. Not for lack of love, but because it breaks our hearts to be forced to put profit above children.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/11/19/strength-and-safety-for-childcare-workforce/
Everyone has a bad boss story. Robyn Peeples is fictional but I could swear I’ve met him several iterations of him in various workplaces before.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/11/14/all-across-the-country-its-action-action-action/
Last week, the budget offered Australians a little relief, especially for parents. This includes an injection of about $4 billion over 4 years into affordable early childhood education and care, and an expansion of Paid Parental Leave from 18 to 26 weeks. These two wins will help mums to enter or re-enter the workforce. …
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/10/31/the-power-of-campaigning-a-budget-special/
Do you work on a plane? Or in a café? Or conduct tours? If you work one of these jobs or one of the many others in aviation, hospitality, travel and tourism, you should have received a few extra dollars in your most recent pay slip. As of 1 October, workers in these industries have…
Keep an eye out of the next few days for the union movement’s positive plan to ensuring millions of workers can get a pay rise.
Australia is the best placed country in the world to be a renewable energy superpower, generating 395,000 jobs and $89 billion in revenue by 2040. We can get there by unions, government, business, and climate organisations working together.
“Because there is such ignorance in the broader Australian community about Indigenous people and our communities and our cultures, it constantly falls on Indigenous people to make up the gaps and fill in the blanks,” Young says.
Today, the Fair Work Commission has announced a 5.2 per cent increase the minimum wage from 1 July. This increase equates to an extra $40 per week in the pocket of a full-time worker on the minimum wage. For workers who are reliant on award wages, the increase will be 4.6 per cent or $40 per week, whichever…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/06/15/union-win-5-2-increase-to-the-minimum-wage/
We have been hearing a lot of old disproven excuses from big business and media commentators about why the minimum wage shouldn’t be increased. Here are five things you can say to set the conversation back on track.
In a huge backtrack on earlier promises, the Morrison Government has renewed the racially discriminatory Community Development Program until July 2024.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/04/01/morrison-extends-racist-job-program-until-2024/
Have you ever heard of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination? If not, that’s exactly as the Liberal Government intended.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/03/21/why-harmony-day-is-another-morrison-cop-out/
National Close the Gap Day this week marked fourteen years since Close the Gap targets were first announced.
It was a time for Australians everywhere to recommit to the aims of the campaign, because the Morrison Government has continued to fail when it comes to closing the gap.
Here’s a look back on the year that was, with a view toward the future we can create.
A new JobKeeper is urgently needed for all workers and should not be open to corporate profiteering. Add your support today.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/07/25/australian-workers-urgently-need-jobkeeper-2-0/
Over two million workers are set to get a 2.5% pay rise after a hard-fought campaign by Australian unions.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/06/30/unions-win-pay-rise-for-over-2-million-workers/
Union led protests demanding a pay rise for working Australians have sparked a wave of online support to #BoycottHarveyNorman
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/06/01/why-boycottharveynorman-is-trending/
Want to help make reconciliation a reality in the workplace? Here are some actions to get you started.
Australian Unions is proud to offer a limited run of the print ‘There is Strength in Numbers’ by Lara Watson, with proceeds going to the First Nation Worker’s Alliance.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/05/21/there-is-strength-in-numbers/
Australian Unions have released For a Stronger, Balanced and Inclusive Recovery – a report proposing solutions to protect working people and build greater resilience in the economy.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/04/27/for-a-stronger-balanced-and-inclusive-recovery/
Thousands of people have taken to the streets to voice their anger at the sexual violence faced by women in Australia and the failings of the Government to take meaningful action against it.
What did we learn?
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/03/16/enough-is-enough-5-takeaways-from-march4justice/
The Wave Hill Walk Off was one of the key events of modern Australian history.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2016/08/22/fifty-years-since-the-wave-hill-walk-off/
The gender pay gap now at its lowest point ever at 11.5%. If we continue to progress as we are, the gender pay gap in Australia could close completely within nine years.
In Australia, your rights as a worker can differ when it comes to your type of employment, especially when it comes to your health and safety, job security, wages and entitlements on the job.
