General ASU News

A strong delegation of ASU officials attended the recent ACTU Congress on 17th & 18th July. The ACTU Congress is the largest and most important gathering of Australian Unions and it sets the ACTU agenda for the following three years. Delegates debated and voted on policies regarding the workplace, rights…

We are saddened to hear of the recent passing of one of the first employees of Care Super and former employee of predecessor Union of the ASU, the Federated Clerks Union (FCU) (Victorian Branch). She was also daughter of long serving National Secretary of the FCU, Terry Sullivan. Anne suffered…

I was saddened to hear of the passing of former ASU secretary and the Technical Services Guild secretary Ted Cowell. On behalf of the ASU and the National Executive, I extend my condolences to his wife Rosemary and their children and grandchildren. Ted was one of the pioneers that formed…

Tonight, we needed a budget that tackled growing inequality, flat lining wages, gave our communities greater security in employment and retirement.  Instead the Federal Government delivered for its mates in banks and big business with $80 billion in corporate tax cuts. The Federal Government has failed many in our community:…

The Australian Services Union today called-out Qantas for their position on corporate tax cuts, saying the company had always pocketed its profits in preference to increasing wages. ASU Assistant National Secretary Linda White said during one of the most profitable periods in Qantas’ history it even frozen wages for the…

Huge numbers of bank customers and staff trying to reveal the extent of banking malpractice to the Banking Royal Commission are gagged by non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements. This makes it all the more important that everyone who is able to make a submission does so – it can be done…

The judgement handed down by the High Court yesterday in a case between petroleum and gas giant ESSO and the Australian Workers Union has made Australia’s industrial action laws – which are already some of the most restrictive in the OECD – much more oppressive. The High Court has described…

ExxonMobil, the parent company of Esso, who has attempted to drive down wages and conditions of workers at their Longford on and offshore sites, will be hauled before a Senate Inquiry into corporate tax evasion. This comes as a result of the report published today by ASU partner the Tax…

The message from the community has been loud and clear during the deliberations of the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation: take back control of public services! After public hearings all over Australia last year, taking written submissions from individuals as well as affected organisations, and commissioning research, the People’s Inquiry is…

The ACTU welcomes Brendan O’Connor’s announcement that the Australian Labor Party will act to address the use of non-representative agreements if it forms the next government. The dispute at Carlton United Breweries drew national attention to the use of non-representative agreements – which are signed by a handful of workers…