News
Federal Elections
Historic partnership of business, NGOs, faith groups and trade unions sign commitment to just transition dialogue for a zero carbon future
01 December 2015
Business groups and civil society representing more than half a million people and a thousand businesses have backed the international trade union call for dialogue between workers, business, governments that will ensure a just transition to a zero carbon future. Click here to read this on the ITUC website The…
Unions call for TPP certainty as analysis shows Australia negotiated the “worst deal” on local jobs
27 November 2015
Australian Unions are deeply concerned with aspects of the recently signed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement (yet to be passed by Parliament), with an analysis of the text showing that Australia has negotiated the worst deal on safeguards for local jobs out of any of the 12 countries that are…
25 November is White Ribbon Day – stand up, speak out, act
23 November 2015
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women or White Ribbon Day is marked each year on 25 November (this Wednesday in 2015). The ASU and a large variety of organisations worldwide participate in awareness raising activities to promote the message that violence against women is not on.…
A group of Australian public sector trade unions including the ASU have welcomed a new report, released in Europe overnight, which highlights the need for governments around the globe to urgently address international corporate tax system loopholes. The Australian Services Union (ASU), NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA), Community and…
Newly revealed TPP full text shows corporate rights favoured over citizens and communities
06 November 2015
TPP text shows some impacts from community campaigns, but still favours corporate rights over citizens and communities. Click here to read this on the AFTINET website “Preliminary analysis of the thousands of pages of the main chapters of the TPP text show that community campaigns pressured governments to resist some…
Valuing families & the next generation means maintaining & improving fair time to care
04 November 2015
You'd be forgiven for feeling duped by this Federal Government. The Australian Services Union well remembers Tony Abbott's Paid Parental Leave (PPL) election promise in 2013 because we predicted it wouldn't be delivered. We weren't happy to be proven right because the welfare of future generations is at stake. What…
Penalty Rates are all about fair compensation
27 October 2015
From staffing call centres, libraries and airports to repairing essential services and providing emergency community services, especially after natural disasters, ASU members are working unsociable hours so that others can enjoy their weekends, nights and holidays. They miss out on vital time with friends and family, and deserve to be…
We give a Gonski, do you? National Gonski Week starts on Monday
21 October 2015
There is nothing more important than the education of our children. For National Gonski Week starting next Monday the ASU is encouraging our members and friends to support the I Give a Gonski campaign, which is a great opportunity to help improve the quality of education our children receive. >>…
Worst elements of Fed Govt workplace Bill defeated in the Senate
13 October 2015
Today the Senate defeated many of the unfair proposals in the Turnbull Government's Fair Work Amendment Bill, rejecting the prospect of more exploitation of the most vulnerable workers in our community. The Opposition, Greens and Cross Bench Senators successfully challenged and defeated the most unfair elements of the Bill including…
New academic report shows China Free Trade Agreement risks local jobs, wages and conditions
07 October 2015
A report released yesterday by Dr Joanna Howe of the University of Adelaide Law School, an expert in temporary labour migration, has vindicated the ASU and others' fears that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) seriously risks access to jobs for the local workforce, as well as undermining Australian labour…
Trade justice for Pacific Island nations
07 October 2015
Pressure is on to speed up the PACER-Plus negotiations between Australia, NZ and 14 Pacific Island Countries. This is another in a line of secret trade agreements that promote the rights of corporations over people. AFTINET, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, ACTU and Pacific Network for Globalisation (PANG), are holding a rally…
Unions reject unfair PC recommendations
30 September 2015
The Productivity Commission's draft recommendations would increase inequality, drive down wages, strip workers of many rights and create a less prosperous Australia – they must be rejected by the Federal Government. Unions have lodged their submissions with the Productivity Commission with the ASU strongly defending the rights of vulnerable workers…
Workers rally to defend the weekend as business once again attacks living standards
23 September 2015
A rally in Melbourne today will be held in protest against employer groups' continued efforts to attack the wages of low paid workers. The ASU and unions argue that assaults on penalty rates don't just drive down the living standards of those who currently earn them, but will have adverse…
Knock for a better future this weekend
09 September 2015
This weekend – September 12 and 13 – thousands of union members, their neighbours, colleagues, friends and families will take part in a doorknock across more than twenty marginal federal electorates to talk about the issues that matter to them in lead up to the election. Workers' rights and jobs,…