From doted-on child to Rhodes Scholar, ACTU president and ultimately prime minister, Robert James Lee Hawke had a significant impact on Australian life.
Demonstrators at one of many ‘Change the Rules’ rallies in October, this one outside parliament house in Adelaide.
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As unions have shrunk, conditions for workers have got worse.
McManus says the present industrial relations system has “excessive, unnecessary and sometimes confusing rules” that hamper parties reaching agreement.
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There are 750,000 fewer workers under enterprise agreements now than when the Coalition was elected, McManus says in her speech to the John Curtin Research Centre.
The ACTU has proposed Australia adopt a “living wage”. This might improve the incomes of some people, but it wouldn’t solve “working poverty”.
Despite public perception, figures indicate that white collar workers are more likely to be a member of a union than people working in traditionally blue collar professions.
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In a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra, ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said 679 of Australia’s biggest corporations pay “not one cent of tax”. Is that right?
A Canberra barista makes coffee. Many low-paid workers will be affected by the Fair Work Commission’s decision on penalty rates.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The government has a major headache on its hands with the proposed cuts to penalty rates, which could haunt it all the way to the next election.
ACTU president Ged Kearney called on Malcolm Turnbull ‘to stand up for workers in this country, to actually change the laws to protect people’s pay’.
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Hospitality, fast food, retail and pharmacy workers stand to lose thousands of dollars per year after the Fair Work Commission’s landmark decision to cut penalty rates on Sundays and public holidays.
It’s not easy to walk away from an abusive relationship without the support of a flexible employer.
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The ACTU’s main election campaign focus is to target 28 marginal Coalition seats, including 11 in NSW and six in Queensland: the key battleground states.
ACTU president Ged Kearney is one of the 38.5% of Australian union secretaries who is female.
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The ACTU will ask the royal commissioner into trade union corruption, Dyson Heydon, to disqualify himself – an application he will hear on Friday.
Business, environmental, trade union and social groups all see advantages in looking beyond high-emission industries such as coal-fired power.
Nick Pitsas/CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons
The Australian Climate Roundtable unites business, environmental and social groups in calling for a strong climate policy. This unprecedented show of unity might even break down Canberra’s climate stalemate.
Millions of workers struggle on the emerging periphery while those at the core enjoy the benefits of stability and skills.
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The Fair Work Commission’s recent wage review may have struck an increased pay deal for low-paid workers but its decision overlooks the growth of a worrying new divide in the Australian workforce. With…
Should we continue to increase the minimum wage, or are there more effective ways to protect low income earners?
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Shortly the Fair Work Commission will announce their decision on the minimum wage for 2013. This will be based on its own research and balancing the claims of employers, unions and others. The ACTU is…
Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, the University of Queensland; International Distinguished Fellow, the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University., The University of Queensland