An alliance between three unions to cover the agricultural supply chain says it has won agreement from the supermarket giant Coles to "pursue safe and fair conditions" for workers in the fresh produce and meat sectors.
The TWU will today raise the spectre of nationwide airport and road freight strikes as it pursues "sector-wide rates" for 38,000 workers covered by 200 expiring enterprise agreements.
Long-serving leader of Together Queensland, Alex Scott, says the success of his team in union elections gives it a mandate to campaign for a stronger worker voice on climate change, while its goal to raise $5 million over years will help it fight "hostile" government attacks on the public sector.
The ACTU has today launched a multi-platform advertising that urges voters to vote the Coalition out to ditch its "unAustralian" IR system and enable unions' Change the Rules agenda.
The composition and role of the Fair Work Commission "must be re-examined" due to Coalition governments appointing 20 consecutive members from an employer background, according to an internal ACTU report.
The AWU claims to have arrested its membership losses, with a new back-office system recording a "modest" increase in numbers, but the ROC is growing impatient, accusing the union of lacking urgency and transparency in rectifying its reporting after it first raised issues about inaccurate data more than two-and-a-half years ago.
The AWU's national leadership is pushing for a "progressive fee structure" that would involve bigger contributions from higher-paid workers and ditching the current flat-fee regime.
The ACTU is looking to kickstart the union movement's federal election campaign by staging fourteen "Change the Rules" rallies across the nation today.
The ACTU will today unveil a claim for a 6% increase in the national minimum wage, which would translate to an extra $43 a week for Australia's lowest-paid workers.
The NUW claims the Chemist Warehouse group has sought to immediately break an indefinite strike, which started today at warehouses in Victoria and Queensland.
