Secure Jobs Better Future

Following yet more unacceptable cases of abuse of the 457 visa system, the ACTU is launching a Confidential Hotline to assist those who are being exploited by unscrupulous employers. ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said some of the latest cases included a father of three, employed for painting and sandblasting, who…

Australian workers' right to be paid a decent wage for working unsociable hours has been reinforced with the Fair Work Commission today comprehensively rejecting an employer push to scrap penalty rates. ACTU President Ged Kearney said the decision in the retail, fast food and hairdressing sectors was a major win…

New research to be released at today's "National Community Summit: Creating Secure Jobs and a Better Society" shows Australia has the second highest rate of temporary workers in the OECD, people are worried about their children's future, and there is support for a significant increase in the Newstart allowance. ACTU…

Recently the Workplace Gender Equality Agency reported that their research shows many male dominated industries are offering better than average conditions for parents. The ASU is proud to say that industries where we are the major union, for example: electricity, water and waste services (ie. local government), have the highest…

New research by the ACTU reveals that wages have failed to keep up with productivity growth over the past decade, busting the myth of a wages breakout and confirming that profits are increasing at the expense of workers' incomes. The research, by the ACTU's Economic Policy Unit, to be presented…

Unions will today call on Fair Work Australia to lift pay rates for apprentices to ensure young people continue to have a pathway to secure jobs and Australia can have a reliable supply of skilled workers. Launching a case in the Fair Work Commission brought by unions in Sydney today,…

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver has declared unions are in for the long haul to campaign for better job security in Australia, beginning with a national portable entitlements scheme. Delivering a major address to the National Press Club in Canberra on 6 February, Oliver said job and income security would be…

Laws that would give mums and dads up to two months together of unpaid parental leave and choice about when to take time off is good news, said ACTU President Ged Kearney. She also welcomed giving pregnant woman the right to move to safe duties regardless of how long they…

The ACTU has called on all parties to ensure that they make secure jobs an election issue and to enshrine penalty rates in law to preserve the weekend for Australian workers. Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra today, ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver also called for an "entitlement portability"…

The ACTU calls for a real and extensive discussion on job security, following the Prime Minister Julia Gillard's announcement of a date for the federal Election and a commitment to focus on jobs. ACTU President, Ged Kearney, said the PM's surprise announcement should be the trigger to intensifying discussion around…