News

ACTU: Economic downturn strengthens the case for urgent changes to workplace laws

Australian workers need the urgent introduction of new industrial relations laws to protect them from the downside of a slowing economy, unions say. The ACTU has warned the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work ...

Unions express sadness at bushfire losses and pledge $250,000 to Red Cross appeal

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has today expressed its sadness and condolences at the tragic loss of more than 100 lives in the bushfires that swept Victoria over the weekend. The ACTU and its ...

ACTU: Comprehensive stimulus package welcome

The Government has looked at all sections of the community in this comprehensive package, said ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence. “This will provide further short-term relief for working Australians feeling pressure to meet their living costs and ...

World Economic Forum: Unions proposal

The global financial crisis threatens to become a social time bomb if the world's governments don't act together with unions to save and create sustainable jobs, according to global trade union leaders attending the World Economic Forum ...

Telstra ballots fail AEC standards

Two workplace ballots at Telstra last year were flawed and did not meet the Australian Electoral Commission's minimum standards, the AEC says. The workplace ballots at Telstra have been controversial because the company has sought since last July ...

Unions welcome stimulus for economy

Unions have welcomed strong indications from the Prime Minister that the Government is preparing for a second stimulus package for the Australian economy. ACTU President Sharan Burrow said the threat to the economy and to jobs had ...

ACTU: IR laws must restore rights at work

Labor’s proposed industrial relations legislation fails to fully deliver on the Rudd Government’s pre-election promise to scrap WorkChoices and restore workers’ rights, says the ACTU. Releasing the ACTU’s submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Fair Work ...

Sharan Burrow: Re-skilling, not redundancy

It has been a big year for good and bad reasons. We made progress towards burying Work Choices, but we also had to cope with the direct and indirect impacts of the global financial crisis. There is ...

Bradley Review - CPSU Response

Union slams student voucher experiment The largest general staff union in Australian universities, the CPSU, today urged the Federal government to reject recommendations by the Bradley Review of Higher Education for the introduction of a student voucher ...

Telstra board and management must stop playing politics on broadband tender and IR

The federal government’s rejection of Telstra’s bid for the National Broadband Network is a bitter disappointment for thousands of workers at the telco, unions said today. It shows the Telstra board and management is putting at ...