Thank you to all the Your Rights at Work supporters on election day and throughout the campaign - we made the difference!
A message from the ASU for the 2007 federal election
Why is this election so important for ASU members? Can we trust Howard to not go further on IR? Are unions anti-business? For some thoughts on these matters, ASU National Secretary Paul Slape has recorded a brief message to ASU members, their families and all our website visitors. Click on the image to the left to view the message.
The ASU encourages its members to take an active interest in the upcoming federal election scheduled for 24 November 2007, because there is so much at stake for workers and their families.
Although we sometimes feel that all the political parties are the same, there are actually very significant areas of difference that will potentially impact quite significantly on workers. Below we have outlined some of the issues we believe are of particular importance along with resources and external information sources. We hope you find these useful in coming to a thoughtful decision about which way you will vote this year.
Issues we believe are important when you decide how to vote at the 2007 federal election
Workplace issues - industrial relations
As a union, the ASU's business is to care about what people experience in their roles as workers. We believe the current Federal Government has been very anti-worker, so we encourage voters to think about these issues when deciding who they will vote for at the next election.
Some of the particular topics of concern have been (click on the links for further information or go directly to the ASU's Your Rights at Work campaign pages for a thorough overview):
protection for workers who are discriminated against (eg. young people)
If you are after more detail, the ASU has also prepared a comparison of the industrial relations policies of the two contenders for next Australian Government, the Coalition and the ALP. The IR Scorecard makes it very clear: for fairness and equity in the workplace, put the Coalition last on your ballot forms come November 24.
The Howard Government has ignored the issue of climate change until only recently. Even now, their policies don't treat this issue as critical. Have a look at the video being screened by the GetUp! organisation for another perspective. Is the Coalition really serious about climate change?
Child Care & Aged Care
Not only do many members of the ASU have children and are faced with the difficult challenge of balancing work and family, we also have many members who are child carers in local government. Although the ASU has achieved a lot for our child care members, the issue of child care funding is of considerable broad concern.
Similarly with aged care, many of our members have elderly parents requiring care as well as a number of our members being care givers to the elderly through local government.
As a society, access to quality and affordable child care and aged care are things we should all take for granted, but can't under the current regime.
Education
The Australian Education Union has produced a flyer called "Five things you must know about public education before you vote". With public schools struggling with class sizes, equipment becoming obsolete and individual students with special needs unable to be catered for, we think it is a travesty that the Howard Government has been shifting education funding to private schools, many of whom have an overabundance of riches already. We encourage you to read the AEU leaflet to help you understand some of the issues before you vote on November 24.
Teachers are also concerned with the impact of WorkChoices on their students, many of whom work in the evenings and weekends. Young workers in particular have been hit hard by the new IR laws. You can find a message from teachers to parents on the reverse of the flyer and you can also read more about the exploitation of young workers on our Youth campaign page, particularly the youth news section.
Ministerial responsibility
Australia currently struggles under the rule of a Teflon Federal Government. Ministerial responsibility may not be one of those issues that rings alarm bells when you make decisions about your future, which house to buy, whether you can afford a holiday, should you buy the cheap tomatoes or the expensive ones. However, it does pay to cast a thought on ministerial responsibility and how it underpins so much of what it takes to make a "Good Government"™!
The media in Australia is so concerned about this issue and how it relates to freedom of information, that they have formed a coalition called "Right to Know". A range of media articles about the issue can be found by following these links:
When many people vote on November 24, they struggle with the issue of politicians being trustworthy and responsible for their decisions. Help make our governments more accountable by demanding that the "buck stops" with ministers when things go dramatically wrong in their portfolios, even if they claim ignorance - and we all know that ignorance is no excuse, especially with those entrusted to govern our country.
Weighing into the debate on ministerial responsibility are two former Australian Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. They wrote a joint letter to all metropolitan newspapers calling for a governmental inquiry into the issue. You can read one of the many pieces of media coverage in The Herald Sun's article of November 12 Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam attack political integrity.
There are lots of ways you can get involved if you are willing to volunteer a little bit of your time.
Your Senate vote is critical
Part of the reason the Howard Government was able to push through WorkChoices so easily was because they gained control of the Senate at the last election. The Senate should act as balance to Government power, with the ability to question and revise new legislation. To read more about why your Senate vote choice is critical, visit the GetUp! organisation's explanation of the importance of the Senate.
Remember, even if you live in a "safe seat", your vote in the Senate is vitally important.
During the election campaign the Coalition has been saying "no" to further changes to industrial relations, but this is the same party that didn't tell the Australian public about WorkChoices at the last election.
There has also been other evidence of plans for more radical measures including Nick Minchin's speech to the anti-worker HR Nicholls Society, research commissioned to show the effects of more workers on AWAs, stated principles of various ministers, etc. To read more about why we believe the Coalition will go further visit the YRAW website's special info webpage.
What do Whitlam and Fraser say about ministerial responsibility?
Weighing into the debate on ministerial responsibility are two former Australian Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. They wrote a joint letter to all metropolitan newspapers calling for a governmental inquiry into the issue. You can read one of the many pieces of media coverage in The Herald Sun's article of November 12 Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam attack political integrity.
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
The ASU is an active supporter of the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign so we urge you to consider issues of foreign aid at this election as well. MPH has prepared a Report Card comparing the policies of the main parties on overseas aid related issues. Have a look.
ASU National Secretary Paul Slape is the spokesperson for the ASU's national campaign during the 2007 Australian Federal Election. For further information, please contact Paul Slape.
ASU NSW & ACT (Services) Branch: The Branch has produced an election website to assist its members with information and activities.
ASUshop Your Rights at Work merchandise: this link will take you straight to the section on merchandise for the YRAW campaign. There are many free items and sale items, so check it out!
Australia Fair: a website resource supported by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) promoting action during the election campaign. Focussing on the fact that one in ten Australians is missing out on a fair go, Australia Fair is asking people to email their local candidates in the election, asking what they'll do to ensure a fair go for all. Other functions and resources are also available.
GetUp! action for Australia: the well known GetUp! team has created a federal election site with lots of resources and information, with more planned. Their slogan for the campaign "vote for change"
Australian Political Ministry Network Ltd (PolMin): a national membership organisation committed to bringing about systemic change in Australian society through the influencing of public policy for the common good in accordance with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Their publications webpage collects a number of policy comparison documents relevant to this federal election, and includes the A4 pamphlet Just Work which neatly summarises why WorkChoices is bad for our society.
The main media sources around the country are listed below, with links to their federal election coverage where they have a special section set aside. For links to other media sources in your state, visit the National Library of Australia's index of Australian newspapers online here: http://www.nla.gov.au/npapers/
Employers should not use the new award system as an excuse to cut pay
Employers should not use the new award system as excuse to rip off workers and cut their pay and conditions, say unions. Unions are concerned that some unscrupulous employers are gearing up to cut pay and conditions following the introduction of the modernised award system.
19 February 2010 [full story]
New Liberal plan to scrap minimum hours of work will hurt more than 2 million casuals
More than two million Australian workers would face major pay cuts and lose their job security under a new Liberal plan to scrap the requirement to pay casuals for minimum hours of work. Liberal leader Tony Abbott announced on radio (3AW Neil Mitchell Show, 17 February 2010) that he will scrap the requirement for casuals to be paid for a minimum shift and that he couldn’t guarantee other basic employment standards would not be axed.
18 February 2010 [full story]
Authorised and published by Paul Slape,
National Secretary, Australian Services Union,
Ground floor, 116 Queensberry Street,
Carlton South, Victoria, 3053, Australia
