The Guardian • B Curphey
BHP can’t enforce vaccine mandate: Fair Work Commission
Workers at NSW’s Mt Arthur BHP coal mine have won in the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which ruled on 3rd December that BHP can not enforce a vaccine mandate at the site until it undertakes genuine consultation with workers.
Read moreMedal bonuses don’t address ableism in Paralympic funding
On Thursday, 2nd September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that medalists at this year’s Paralympic Games would get equal payments to their Olympic counterparts for the first time in Australian history.
Read moreNauru invokes the Law of the Sea to begin deep seabed mining by 2022
At the 76th meeting of the UN General Assembly last week, a controversial move by the states of Micronesia was on the agenda.
Read moreThe “new normal” life with COVID, two years on
New data shows that the cost of living has increased 3.5 per week in the past year and poverty is once more on the increase...
Read moreSick Pay Guarantee a step in the right direction
The Victorian government has recently launched a Sick Pay Guarantee pilot program for casual workers. Under the scheme, casuals and contract workers in certain industries...
Read moreReport shows deaths at work on the rise
On 28th October, Safe Work Australia released a damning report which shows that deaths at work have increased.
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Issue #2020
RTBU’S “rolling” actions highlight broken bargaining system
Workers at Sydney Trains and NSW Trains are taking industrial action throughout August over the Government’s refusal to negotiate in good faith. Health and safety,...
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Issue #2021
Treaty authority established in Victoria
On 16th August, the Victorian Parliament passed legislation creating an independent body to oversee treaty negotiations between the Victorian government and the state’s Traditional Owners....
Read moreElection 2022: where do the major parties stand on housing?
Heading into the 2022 Federal Election on 21st May, housing is once again a major issue. The cost of housing increased by twenty-five per cent...
Read moreCommonwealth pushes to rework national curriculum
Federal Education Minister Stuart Robert has gone public with his belief that school curriculums should be teaching our kids “what it means to be Australian.”...
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Issue #2022
Amazon free one-day delivery built on extreme exploitation
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has announced plans to roll out free one-day delivery for hundreds of thousands of products in Melbourne and Sydney...
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Issue #2023
The rent is too high!: RAHU speaks truth to power at the Victorian state election
On 2nd September, the Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) launched their state election campaign in Victoria, on the platform that “the rent is too high.”...
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Issue #2024
Multi-employer bargaining key to improving working conditions: ACOSS and ACTU
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has joined with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to call on the Albanese government to implement...
Read moreGovernment closes loophole on e-cigarettes
Changes to the law on 1st October will make it illegal to possess or import an e-cigarette (or “vape”) containing liquid nicotine without a prescription.
Read moreSA bans spit hoods
On 23rd September, the South Australian parliament voted unanimously to ban the use of spit hoods ...
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Issue #2007
Back the call for a 5.5 per cent wage increase
Earlier this month, amid predictable outcry from the Coalition, Anthony Albanese voiced his support for a 5.1 per cent increase in wages, to keep pace...
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Issue #1982
Fair Work Ombudsman finds wage theft in hotel quarantine
In July this year, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), Sandra Parker, launched an investigation into thirty-seven companies who ran security for hotel quarantine in Melbourne...
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Issue #2018
Universities suffer epidemic of insecure work
Job insecurity in universities is reaching record levels. According to a recent report, one third of employees working in a university are casual or contract...
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Issue #2020
ACTU pushes for radical reforms ahead of jobs summit
The federal government is holding a Jobs and Skills Summit in early September this year to address the “shared economic challenges” faced by Australians. The...
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Issue #2025
Sydney train strike update
Plans to disable the ticket readers at Sydney’s metro train stations are back on the table after the RTBU filed a new application for industrial...
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Issue #1982
Queensland police fight vaccine mandate
Members of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) have launched a legal challenge in the Supreme Court of Queensland (QSC) against a vaccine mandate issued by...
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Issue #2011
The future of regional flights is up in the air
Regional Express (Rex) is embattled to say the least. The airline, on which many remote and regional areas depend for flights to major cities, is...
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Issue #1997
Are we really at the forefront on renewable energy?
“Australia is at the forefront of a global experiment on how to shift an electricity grid built on coal to one dominated by renewables.” So...
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Issue #2034
15,000 workers left in the lurch as Deliveroo goes under
British food delivery platform Deliveroo announced on the 16th November that it was going into voluntary administration, claiming that “achieving a sustainable position of leadership...
Read moreIndigenous Australians continue to be left out of the conversation
In a controversial move earlier this year, the Senate voted down a proposal to establish a parliamentary committee to investigate truth-telling and treaty-making processes – two of the three key recommendations of the Uluru Statement From the Heart.
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Issue #2022
(Un)equal pay day: Melbourne
On Monday the 29th August, working women took to the streets of Melbourne to raise awareness and protest against the rising gender pay gap. The...
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Issue #1997
Respect @ Work 1 year on
The 2018 National Inquiry into Sex Harassment in Australian Workplaces, which produced the Respect @ Work Report, found that two in five women have experienced...
Read moreCovid crisis in outback NSW: Indigenous communities at risk
The COVID crisis deepened this week as New South Wales began recording over 800 cases a day, and regional Victoria went back into lockdown.
Read moreCan employers mandate vaccinations?
Editorial note: This article does not purport to give legal advice. It is for general informational purposes only With the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout well...
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Issue #2004
Jobs jobs jobs! Liberals ignore quality over quantity
Once again, one of the LNP’s go-to slogans for the upcoming federal election is “Jobs Jobs Jobs!” After Labor leader Albanese was raked over the...
Read moreA win for farmworkers as FWC rules on minimum wage
Workers and union organisers with the United Workers Union (UWU) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) are celebrating a massive win ...
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Issue #1997
High Court rulings on employment a double-edged sword
In early February this year, the High Court of Australia decided two cases that radically alter the way that courts and tribunals assess whether a...
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Issue #2012
Workers win historic wage increase in Annual Wage Review
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has struck a strong middle ground with a 5.2 per cent wage hike announced on 15th June. The minimum wage...
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Issue #2019
Bail laws are not fit for purpose
In early August, the Final Report of the Inquiry into Children Affected by Parental Incarceration was tabled in the Victorian parliament. The Report made damning...
Read moreMassive delivery delays cripple Melbourne, Sydney
With demand up thirty per cent from last year, Australia Post has been experiencing long delays in Victoria and New South Wales due to extended lockdowns in Melbourne, Sydney and regional areas in both states.
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