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Blue Mountains Unions & Community

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25.01.2022 "The federal government’s industrial relations reform bill offers a new definition of 'casual' employment that creates more problems than it solves," writes David Peetz. "It effectively defines a casual job as anything described that way by the employer at the time a job commences, so long as the employer initially makes 'no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work'." "Anyone defined as such loses any entitlement to leave they might otherwise have got throu...gh two recent Federal Court decisions." "Fair enough, you might think. Casual jobs are meant to be flexible. There can’t be an ongoing commitment." "But that’s not what the data on 'casual employment' tell us." Peetz has "drilled into previously unpublished data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to get a better sense of what casual employment means for those employed as such." What he "found suggests the 'casual' employment relationship is not about doing work for which employers need flexibility. It’s not about workers doing things that need doing at varying times for short periods." "The flexibility is really in employers’ ability to hire and fire, thereby increasing their power. For many casual employees there’s no real flexibility, only permanent insecurity." "The federal government’s new bill will not solve this. It will reinforce it." https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-much-casual-wor

25.01.2022 We dont think this government will be accused of efficiency any time soon. "Fewer than 250 people have applied for the Morrison governments homebuilder (sic) scheme, officials have revealed, despite the hype from an industry association that it was the most effective stimulus in decades." "The federal government announced the $688m scheme just over two months ago, offering homeowners up to $25,000 to either build a new home or substantially renovate an existing one in a b...id to prop up demand in Australias construction sector during the coronavirus-induced economic crisis." "But the government opted against passing new legislation to deliver the scheme, meaning it is relying on agreements with individual states and territories to provide the grants." https://www.theguardian.com//coalitions-homebuilder-scheme https://twitter.com/tanya_plibe/status/1294503132727136256

25.01.2022 This government wouldn't know a good idea if it jumped up and bit them... https://www.msn.com//government-rejects-call-/vi-BB1aYpTS

25.01.2022 What a joke...except it isnt. "Australia Post has asked workers to volunteer to help clear a massive backlog in parcels caused by the coronavirus pandemic, using their own cars at the same time its senior executives are in line for about $7 million in bonus payments." "The national mail service emailed its Victorian workforce, including staff from administration and finance, on Monday to "urgently" ask for help to meet unprecedented demand from customers because of a surge i...n online shopping." Its clear the executive bonuses arent for good management but theyre on target to meeting the "ripping off workers" KPI.

24.01.2022 Hoping that every person who enabled Trump is feeling shame. Fearing that they are proud of their disaster. https://www.thetimes.co.uk//morten-morland-times-cartoon-n

23.01.2022 Some good news. But, of course, there'll be an appeal...

23.01.2022 Interesting! and definitely not fair, short sighted, bad for workers and bad for the economy.

22.01.2022 Treating workers with disproven austerity measures wont make a sick economy a healthy one. Itll be economic euthanasia.

22.01.2022 Hospo Voice - from the Victorian branch of the hospitality union.

21.01.2022 "No matter how smart we think we are, there’s a hard limit on what we can know, and we could easily end up on the losing end of a big bet. We owe it to ourselves, and others, to build a more compassionate world." https://psyche.co//the-mathematical-case-against-blaming-p

21.01.2022 The prime minister just does not care about Australians, their jobs or future.

21.01.2022 We call bullshit Messrs Frydenberg and Callaghan. "Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has hinted at a delay in increasing compulsory superannuation contributions after a landmark report said higher rates could hurt wage growth and would be poorly timed given the COVID-19 economic hit and rising house prices." "Releasing the 650-page report by former IMF director and senior Treasury bureaucrat Michael Callaghan, Mr Frydenberg said there was clear evidence the legislated superannuation ...guarantee increase could hurt wage growth and standards of living." What wage growth? "Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the increase had been paused twice, and further changes would come during a period of wage stagnation." "The evidence is very clear that freezing the superannuation increase certainly hasn't led to increased wages. If it did, we would have that evidence already."

20.01.2022 Is it only unions which get live media coverage of AFP raids? "Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus questioned why police were not raiding 'banks for money laundering and child exploitation...politicians' offices for funding rorts and fundraisers with developers...companies for tax rorts and wage theft'." "'The list could go on and on,' she said on Wednesday morning."... https://www.smh.com.au//police-raid-cfmeu-addresses-in-syd See more

20.01.2022 We say we care about our elderly and are outraged by their treatment in the aged care system, but, if that was true, wouldn't we value the people who care for them by paying them a decent wage? 25% more than what they get now? This is what the HSU NSW is doing about it. "More than 200,000 aged cares workers will seek a massive 25% pay rise through a work value case launched by the Health Services Union on Thursday."... "If the case succeeds, all aged care workers including personal carers, activities officers, catering, cleaning and administration workers would see their pay rise by at least $5 per hour." "Unlike enterprise bargaining, in which employees and their unions seek pay rises from their employers, the case in the Fair Work Commission would allow the industrial tribunal to lift wages across the sector by varying the award." "The union argues pay rates in aged care fail the Fair Work Act’s requirement for a 'safety net of fair minimum wages'." "In its interim report, the aged care royal commission found the sector 'suffers from severe difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff'." 'Workloads are heavy,' it said. 'Pay and conditions are poor, signalling that working in aged care is not a valued occupation.' https://www.theguardian.com//more-than-200000-aged-care-wo

19.01.2022 Unions have a plan for TAFE. #2: Training for Reconstruction A new nation-wide Free TAFE program supporting 150,000 places, which would also support 10,000 jobs in the TAFE system.... TAFE put back at the centre of Commonwealth and state governments training funding with committing 70% of all government VET funding directed to TAFE. A Rebuilding TAFE fund - updating and modernising facilities with a particular focus in regional areas. Commonwealth wage subsidies for up to 100,000 apprentices and trainees for the life of their apprenticeship/traineeship and a guaranteed job at the end. And to assist our higher education sector, the Commonwealth government must extend JobKeeper wage subsidies to universities (which are currently excluded from the program) through the 2020 academic year, thus helping to protect another 20,000 higher education jobs at risk from the current crisis in international education. See the full 5 point reconstruction plan here: https://www.actu.org.au//rebuilding-jobs-and-our-economy-p

19.01.2022 We've become a signatory to the world's biggest trade agreement but there's a good chance you've never heard of it. That's because it was negotiated in secret. Our podcast of Dr Pat Ranald of Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) speaking about the RCEP at Politics in the Pub last year.

19.01.2022 A resolution was passed at our General Meeting last Sunday to endorse this open statement to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard to allow protests under the NSW Public Health Orders. I have signed this statement as a representative of Blue Mountains Unions & Community and I, and those present at the meeting, encourage you to read the statement and endorse it as an individual. Here is the link to the statement created by Democracy is Essential - Restore the right to protest in NS...W: https://democracyisessential.wordpress.com///31/statement/ We also encourage you to invite other organisations and individuals to become signatories to the statement. We must not allow our right to protest to be eroded under the pretense of protecting our health when movements like Black Lives Matter have shown us that protests can be managed safely with no resultant spread of the virus - contrary to the claims of those who seek to impose these restrictions while permitting much larger gatherings for commercial interests. In solidarity Debra Smith Secretary Blue Mountains Unions & Community (Blue Mountains Unions Council Inc)

18.01.2022 l.ead.me/singitsayit

18.01.2022 We cant help wondering why, if the government was serious about making it harder for COVID-19 to spread, why anyone even needs to ask the government for this. It just seems so obvious that this is the right thing to do. #pandemicleave.... https://twitter.com/sallymcmanus/status/1290139176982048770

18.01.2022 Don't spend it all in one place. (sarcasm font)

18.01.2022 The word "gluttonous" in this Vogue article says it all. Have you ever wondered where some of the billions of dollars of aged care funding goes? Because aged care providers arent required to show that its actually spent on caring for our elders. "This digitally collaged tableau, telling of the gluttonous trappings of wealth within a classical framework, informs all the colour, period clash and wry commentary that Walton and his design team have worked into wider furnishing ...and fine art. The polarity play of old and new, classical and digital, established and emerging, high-end and humourous speaks entirely to the couples provenance and personalities, which Areti rounds off as fearless and fun." Of course they are "fearless". Theyve certainly had nothing to fear from government authorities. Unlike the people in their care or their casualised workers. Propping up the lifestyles of the greedy is where a good sized chunk of federal aged care funding goes. https://www.vogue.com.au//image-gallery/1f964f7700ad92f5ff Who are these people? The home featured in the Vogue article is owned by Arenti and Peter Arvantis. "Epping Gardens parent company, Heritage Care Pty Ltd, which has a portfolio of nine for-profit residential aged care homes in Sydney and Melbourne, is directed and owned by multimillionaire aged-care moguls Tony Antonopoulos and Peter Arvanitis." "Government figures show 118 cases of COVID-19 at Epping Gardens up to Saturday, and families with loved ones at the home have complained about dysfunction, poor staffing and poor care at the facility before and during the crisis." "Official documents show that one of the other homes in the companys group, Heritage Botany, failed all eight minimum standards in an audit by the Commonwealth Aged Care Safety and Quality Commission in September last year." "Peter Arvanitis, who joined Heritage Care in January, 2019, was the founder and one-time director of listed for-profit nursing home giant Estia. He sold his shareholding in 2016 for $55 million and quit the company after it hit trouble. In 2018 he also sold a shopping centre he owned and a thoroughbred horse breeding farm, netting another $21 million." The audit results of one of their homes are sickening. "The scathing review of the privately owned, for-profit nursing home found the management of nutrition, hydration, skin injuries, falls and pain was inadequate, the food was bad, monotonous and not culturally appropriate, and that some of the residents who could not feed themselves or get their own drinks were not getting help in time.The government audit found that staff numbers had been cut, leaving residents uncared for. The remaining staff told inspectors they sometimes cannot complete their work." https://www.smh.com.au//a-troubled-past-in-the-multi-milli If only it was only one company, one family but this is systemic. The Arvantis family arent the only parasites sucking the life blood out of our elders.

16.01.2022 Live from the #march4justice in Canberra.

16.01.2022 Time to get even more organised!

16.01.2022 Time to restore and repair the damage thats been done to TAFE over the years!

15.01.2022 Thank you Blue Mountains City Council for supporting our campaign to monitor air quality in the Blue Mountains. "A community campaign to get the state government to restore the Blue Mountains Air Watch program is being escalated after government inquiries on last year's bushfires heard about the effects on communities that lacked air monitoring data." "Blue Mountains Council passed an urgency motion at last month's meeting seeking for the restoration of the Blue Mountains Air... Watch Project. The mayor will again write to the Minister for the Environment Matt Kean urging for his intervention. Council is also hoping neighbouring bushfire affected councils - Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Wollondilly - as well as the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils will campaign for the return of the monitoring." Find out more from this well written and comprehensive article in the Blue Mountains Gazette. https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au//one-year-on-from/ You can download a petition, flyers and posters from our website at l.ead.me//airwatch and follow the campaign in the Facebook group Blue Mountains & Lithgow AirWatch. We are calling for the restoration of the previous program and its extension to the lower Mountains.

15.01.2022 Governments are elected for the prosperity of our citizens and country. Have we come to a point in time that just to have some sort of employment we have become gullible to what this government is offering? Wage growth over the last 7 years has been at an all time low. Is there worse to come? The opportunity to revive manufacturing and develop a renewable energy market in the near future is paramount. Why are we spending money on gas as an alternative? #unionsnsw #ausunions #changetherules #climatejustice

15.01.2022 Words to be wary of when uttered by a conservative government: #flexible #fair #simplify #harmonise ... #choice What have we missed?

15.01.2022 This government has a deep aversion to accountability.

15.01.2022 "We dont need diehards arguing that the best way to rebuild the economy and create jobs is to cut corporate tax and undermine working conditions." "Any industrial relations reform should heed the hard lessons of the pandemic and focus on creating more job security for Australians by recognising that casualisation has led to more insecurity." "We should also be investing heavily in infrastructure to generate economic activity and jobs."... "For example, we should be investing right now in social housing. This would create more construction jobs while also boosting much-needed social housing stock." "We should also recognise the individual value of all workers, understanding that the greatest heroes of the pandemic response have been those working in health, retailing and transportation, many of whom are low-income earners." "Coronavirus has made 2020 the most miserable year in living memory." "It has cost Australians their liberty, their finances and, tragically in too many cases, their lives." Anthony Albanese - The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au//71074f257d93d5f89b78c1e0

14.01.2022 Do you applaud the resignation of James Murdoch from News Corp as he disassociates himself from its objectionable content, or do you think he should have continued to fight for his beliefs from a more powerful position within the organisation? "Rupert Murdochs son James has resigned from News Corps board of directors, saying he disagreed with some of the editorial and strategic decisions made by the company." "James had recently taken issue with News Corps coverage of the ...summer of bushfires in Australia and climate change more generally." "In January, a spokesperson for James and his wife, Kathryn, told The Daily Beast that the pairs frustration with some of News Corp and Foxs coverage of the topic is well known." "They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial of the role of climate change among the news outlets in Australia, given obvious evidence to the contrary, the spokesperson said." "More than 280 journalists and staffers from the Wall Street Journal, one of News Corps US papers, also recently sent a letter to the papers publisher criticising the Opinion section, saying it published inaccuracies and undermined the paper with readers and sources."

14.01.2022 In support of these workers that were locked out for three months. Whilst these workers were negotiating in good faith, Coles rented two other warehouses and relocated their stock to them, then staffed them with casuals. They then locked these workers out. The history of disputes on this site is one stop work for four hours in 2013 in regards to a safety issue. This is how Coles treats its incredible hard working, loyal work force.... The money that Coles spent on relocation could have paid these workers what they are asking for. When speaking to the workers here one of their concerns was the federal government's payments to businesses that only hire people between 21 and 35. There is already evidence of employers advertising for this age group. Stand in solidarity with these workers, send a clear message by not shopping with them and by signing this petition calling for the lockout to end. https://www.megaphone.org.au//coles-your-long-serving-esse #unionsnsw #ausunions #ChangeTheRules #uwu

14.01.2022 Now, who was it who tried to use cricket to divert attention away from his performance during the bushfires, and who said, "I'm going to the cricket" before realising that it wasn't a good look for a politician during a pandemic? Do political somersaults count as sport?

13.01.2022 Today on Rights Rorts and Rants...

12.01.2022 Can't get fruitpickers? Here's why...

12.01.2022 "It is...critical that Australian workers, whose earnings are the subject of this debate and whose retirement incomes will be affected by any change in the system, are able to fully understand the implications of further delaying or stopping the increase in the SG rate to 12%, on both their immediate take home pay and their superannuation savings." "This report attempts to provide that empirical evidence, and to allow individual workers to assess what the impact of the delay in increasing the SG rate to 12% has been on their super savings over the last five years and, therefore, is likely to be over the next five." https://percapita.org.au//the-super-freeze-what-youve-lost/

12.01.2022 Just as you think the LNP couldn't possibly think of anything worse, they come up with something like this.

12.01.2022 When someone else says exactly what we were trying to say, but better.

11.01.2022 Rebecca Mann was one of the favourites in our Local and Original at the Family Hotel, before the pandemic stopped it all.

11.01.2022 "Can you hear historys echo? Its the sound of coffers filling, of fortunes being made, of rich men mocking the poor, of a ruling class laughing and, yes, even revelling in their lack of empathy and compassion." "Its a sound becoming more familiar by the day." "Fractured by coronavirus along state and ideological lines, the chasm has now widened between those demanding the end of lockdowns and the resumption of business and those preferring a safer, lives-first approach."... https://thenewdaily.com.au//garry-linnell-profits-over-pe/ See more

11.01.2022 Solidarity, sisters and brothers.

11.01.2022 But, but, but...Hawkesbury developers think the plan is fit for purpose - their purpose. "One of the Berejiklian governments own agencies has blasted as inadequate the environmental assessment of the plan to raise Warragamba Dams height, including for the failure to consider impacts from last seasons bushfires." "The scathing National Parks & Wildlife Service review of WaterNSWs draft impact statement, obtained by the Herald, also rejected a scheme to require "make-good" ...offsets only for damage done during construction of the higher wall rather than the resulting flooding of thousands of hectares of World Heritage land once the dam fills." https://www.smh.com.au//warragamba-dam-environment-plan-no See more

10.01.2022 "Haley was a 32-year-old phone tech earning about $US35,000 a year, and he was in a sour mood. [His employer, Dan] Price had noticed it, and when he spotted Haley outside on a smoking break, he approached. 'Seems like something's bothering you,' he said. 'What's on your mind?'" "'You're ripping me off,' Haley told him." "Price was taken aback. Haley is shy, not prone to outbursts. 'Your pay is based on market rates,' Price said. 'If you have different data, please let me know.... I have no intention of ripping you off.' The data doesn't matter, Haley responded: 'I know your intentions are bad. You brag about how financially disciplined you are, but that just translates into me not making enough money to lead a decent life.'" Price's response, after initially being offended, was to raise the minimum wage in his company to $US70000 and cut his own pay from $1.1 million to $70,000. "Most people live paycheck to paycheck. So how come I need 10 years of living expenses and you don't?", said Price. So, what happened to his business? Find out more here: https://www.inc.com//p/does-more-pay-mean-more-growth.html

10.01.2022 What a tough decision to make. What a shame that men of conscience felt they no longer had a place in a party they had served for so many years.

10.01.2022 Ah...the gig economy... "A total of five delivery riders from multiple companies have died in the last two months." "Alex Roxborough, another delivery rider, told SBS News the deaths have made him reconsider working in the industry."... 'It could have easily been me. What’s the point of earning money if I’m not alive?' he said." How many more are injured? We extend our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the workers killed. https://www.sbs.com.au//after-five-deaths-in-two-months-au

09.01.2022 We are so sorry for the people of Beirut. If you would like to support the people of Beirut, APHEDA Union Aid Abroad has provided a list of Australian NGOs who are responding to the Beirut explosion. They will update this list with more links and ways you can help as the response gets underway: https://www.apheda.org.au/update-from-beirut/ We cant help thinking that the disaster which has befallen Beirute could have been avoided if the advice of workers had been taken.... "A former port worker, Yusuf Shehadi, told the Guardian he had been instructed by the Lebanese military to house the chemicals in warehouse 12 at the port despite repeated protests by other government departments." We complained a lot about this over the years, said Shehadi, who worked at the port until emigrating to Canada in March this year. Every week, the customs people came and complained and so did the state security officers. The army kept telling them they had no other place to put this. Everyone wanted to be the boss, and no one wanted to make a real decision. "In addition, the hangar housed a quantity of fireworks, Shehadi said, which customs had confiscated in about 2009-10 and which he said he had personally seen delivered on a forklift. There were 30 to 40 nylon bags of fireworks inside warehouse 12, he said." https://www.theguardian.com//beirut-explosion-former-port-

09.01.2022 Why spend your grocery money at Woolworths when they clearly do not care about local communities or the very workers that have worked hard for the success of Woolworths. Locking out their own staff is a disgrace. Basic ethical standards would make sure that all workers at Woolworths doing the same job receive the same pay and conditions. #unionsnsw #ausunions #ChangeTheRules

08.01.2022 The IR Omnibus Bill results.

08.01.2022 Now Republicans are complaining about having to walk through metal detectors and undergo bag searches. You know, the way their children have had to do, just to attend school every day.

08.01.2022 "In relation to neoliberalism, COVID-19 is a bit like those chemical agents used at crime scenes, causing that pale blue luminescence when they react with the presence of blood. It shows us what was already there. It tells us that we are living at the scene of a social crime." "Audre Lorde made those observations in the 80s, as neoliberalism was beginning its soul-destroying trajectory that would lead us to where we are today. And where are we exactly?" "We are where this tr...ajectory was designed to take us, to the apogee of the neoliberal disease: to a place of stagnant wage growth, reduced power for working people, lower taxes on corporations and high-wealth individuals, cuts to social expenditure, a retrenched welfare state, an ailing social security system, a decades-long diet of privatisation and outsourcing, a housing crisis, extraordinary levels of work insecurity, precarity as a way of life, and the economic normalisation of mass unemployment and underemployment - along with the institutional punishment for these conditions." "And all of that was the case even before the recession!" But there is a vaccination for the neoliberal disease. Read on:

07.01.2022 If you believe that youll get higher wages now if your employers contribution is frozen at 9.5% instead of raised, as scheduled and legislated, to 12% then we have a nice bridge to sell you. Not only is a freeze another way to cut wages, it will reduce the amount that super funds will have to invest in infrastructure and reduce the number of jobs created. "Industry funds are warning a delay in the super guarantee rise will put at risk investment worth $33 billion over the n...ext five years and undermine the federal governments plan for an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic." "Industry Super Australia has calculated the investment plans of nine major funds and forecast between 110,000 and 176,000 new full-time jobs will be created a year until 2025 if there is a rise. The funds include the $156 billion infrastructure giant IFM Investors and property investors ISPT, which has a $19 billion portfolio." "Industry Super chief economist Stephen Anthony said any move to delay the increase, which is set to rise from 9.5 to 10 per cent in July 2021 then incrementally to 12 per cent by mid-2025, would derail the industrys significant plans for recovery." "If the super guarantee increase is dropped all bets are off. If you dont know what tomorrow brings you cannot do cap ex [capital expenditure]," Mr Anthony said. "The whole next five years is premised on these settings being unchanged." https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/super-rise-backflip-

07.01.2022 PM Morrison should be condemning the spread of lies, fake news and conspiracy theories by members of his government. Instead he's protecting the likes of Craig Kelly under the guise of "free speech". "Free speech" doesn't free anyone from facing the consequences of irresponsible speech. Did this PM learn nothing from the attempted US coup? Is he hoping for a right wing insurrection if the Coalition lose power in an Australian election?... From The New Daily https://thenewdaily.com.au//conspiracy-theories-craig-kel/

07.01.2022 Emergency mass virtual member meeting on the government’s dangerous and extreme changes to workers’ rights. Tuesday, December 15 at 6pm AEDT. Register here: https://bit.ly/37RO6Bk

07.01.2022 Unions supporting the UWU and the workers from Coles Smeaton Grange distribution centre. After five weeks of Coles locking workers out until February next year ...the company does not have decency to negotiate in good faith. So we blocked of Broadway Sydney and sat in the middle of the road in protest against the cruel conduct towards these hard working loyal workers. #ChangeTheRules #ausunions #unionsnsw #uwu See more

07.01.2022 Catching up on our podcasts but the information in this one is still relevant! Time to sign the petition to have the Modern Slavery Act 2018 proclaimed is running out! https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au//Pages/epetition-details... If you want to find out a bit more about the Modern Slavery Act NSW than what weve got in the podcast, heres a link: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com//modern-slavery-act-wh

06.01.2022 So, who should lose their job over the #robodebt mess? #Scrobo. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen. Not while he's the PM.

06.01.2022 Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraiser!

05.01.2022 What do you think? "The Business Council of Australia says that it doesn’t believe companies that receive JobKeeper should be paying executive bonuses. The practice has also been criticised by the Australian Taxation Office and by former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett." "These critics recognise the basic economic reality that while JobKeeper must be passed on to workers, it also provides relief to the company’s bottom line by covering part of the firm’s wage bill. If ...a firm has enough spare cash to give the boss a multimillion-dollar bonus, it doesn’t need taxpayer subsidies to pay its workforce." "And there’s a good precedent for giving the subsidies back. Last week, Toyota Australia returned taxpayers $18 million in JobKeeper payments. The company acknowledged there was no legal obligation for them to do it. But chief executive Matthew Callachor said that the board and management had decided that "returning JobKeeper payments was the right thing to do as a responsible corporate citizen". This week, Super Retail Group, which owns Rebel and BCF, announced that its stores had turned a healthy profit, so the firm would repay $1.7 million in JobKeeper subsidies."

05.01.2022 Many public sector workers put themselves at greater risk of coronavirus in their jobs. They do this to make us safe and keep society functioning. Without them, Australia wouldnt be getting through this crisis better than nearly all other countries. So when NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian tried to cut their pay, the Upper House of the NSW Parliament blocked the pay cut. But now the Premier is trying to deliver a back door pay cut through the courts, with a case before the Ind...ustrial Relations Commission. Why? Because workers are seen as an easy target - they dont have the wealth or power of big business, CEOs or the banks that should be forced to pay their fair share of tax. Whats worse, the Premier has already awarded pay rises to Government CEOs and Heads of Departments - she even gave a $17,000 pay rise to one of Liberal Party Ministers. The Government employs 1 in 10 people in NSW - it could increase the pay of its workers who spend in our communities and shops. This would actually help the economy. The boost in pay would result in more money spent in the local shops and communities where public sector workers live. If they cut workers pay this will prolong the economic downturn for all of us. Add your name to tell the Premier to withdraw her pay cut case in the Industrial Relations Commission. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/withdraw-the-pay-cut-case/ Unions NSW

05.01.2022 CALL TO ACTION! Sign a petition against modern slavery: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au//Pages/ePetition-details "Why wont Premier Gladys Berejiklian enact modern slavery laws?... "Weve all heard about the scourge of wage theft in Australia, with high profile scandals like celebrity chef George Calombaris. But sadly, modern slavery and human trafficking is still occurring in business and industry supply chains. "Thats why in June 2018, parties and interest groups across the state came together for the NSW Parliament to pass a landmark anti-slavery law. "The final step in the process is to proclaim the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and its basically a flick of a pen. Usually it happens without discussion youd rarely hear about the proclamation in the news. But the Premier is refusing. "Weve now joined dozens of organisations, from churches to judges, to get this law enacted. "If we reach 20,000 signatures on the official parliamentary petition, this will trigger a debate in parliament. "We have less than three weeks until the petition closes." Mark Morey, Secretary, Unions NSW Last year BMUC hosted a Politics in the Pub "Free Trade or Fair Trade". One of the speakers was Alison Rahill Executive Officer of the Anti-Slavery Taskforce, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. You can hear what she had to say here: https://anchor.fm//Free-Trade-or-Fair-Trade--Alison-Rahill

04.01.2022 We have no comment. Nothing we could say could express it better than Cathy Wilcox. https://twitter.com/cathywilcox1/status/1371927065587449859

04.01.2022 So many public sector workers have been at the forefront of fighting COVID-19. This is the thanks they get from the NSW government.

04.01.2022 What can be done about modern slavery? "Many Australian businesses may be unaware of the risk that they have slavery in their business or supply chains." "As at 2018, the Walk Free Foundations Global Slavery Index estimated:...Continue reading

03.01.2022 We hope the men lost at sea from the Gulf Livestock 1 will be found alive and that the Japanese Coast Guard resumes the search for them as news breaks that all crew were above deck and that life rafts were deployed at the time the ship sank. Our thoughts are with their families and friends who must be going through an emotional roller coaster at present as they hope for the best and fear the worst. Sadly, there is no hope for the 5867 livestock that was on board.... The 11,947-tonne ship "Gulf Livestock 1" was registered in Panama, sailing under a flag of convenience. It is reported that an engine failed, before the ship capsized in high seas caused by typhoon Maysak. https://www.abc.net.au//missing-ship-gulf-livesto/12629082 While we have no reason to believe this incident is anything but a tragic accident we do have general concerns about the increased risks associated with the registration of ships under flags of convenience. One of the problems is the confusion that arises about which countrys laws govern responsibility for many aspects of a tragedy like this. Who is responsible for investigating the causes? For ensuring safe working conditions? For ensuring survivors and their families are compensated for injury and loss? Isnt the avoidance of all these responsibilities the purpose of a flag of convenience? We discussed flags of convenience with former merchant seafarer and former BMUC member Dave Butler earlier this year when many workers were trapped on their ships by the border restrictions imposed by the pandemic. You can hear a podcast of this discussion here, as well as via many podcasting sites, like Spotify: https://anchor.fm//Flags-of-Convenience-and-COVID-19--Dave

03.01.2022 That just about covers it...

03.01.2022 Thank you Trish Doyle MP and Susan Templeman MP for facilitating this discussion. This is a link to the podcast of our interview with Kim de Govrik of the Public Service Association of NSW as we looked back at the 2019/2020 megafires and discussed the resources our firefighters need to do their job safely and efficiently. https://anchor.fm//What-more-do-we-need-to-fight-bushfires

03.01.2022 Some advice from the youth of America...

02.01.2022 Wonder if these are the same employers alleged to be using JobKeeper to pay increased dividends to their shareholders? https://www.theguardian.com//companies-using-millions-in-j