Category Archives: Australian trade unions

‘Disgusting’ slogan apparently directed at Victorian premier seen at rally attended by Brad Battin and union boss

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‘Ditch the bitch’ was emblazoned on a fire truck at a rally against the state’s new emergency services levy

The Victorian opposition leader, Brad Battin, and firefighters union boss, Peter Marshall, have sparked backlash after attending a rally in Melbourne’s west where the slogan “ditch the bitch” was emblazoned on a fire truck.

The phrase, apparently directed at the premier, Jacinta Allan, echoes the infamous “ditch the witch” poster that Tony Abbott stood in front of during a 2011 rally, which was widely condemned at the time as sexist and misogynistic towards the then prime minister Julia Gillard.

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Queensland LNP government launches inquiry into CFMEU state branch and its Labor ‘enablers’

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Deputy premier likens investigation to 1980s Fitzgerald inquiry, accusing Labor of orchestrating ‘protection racket’ for union

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has invoked the inquiry that brought down decades-long conservative rule in the state as it vowed to pursue a Labor opposition that it described as the “enabler” of violence within a union.

The premier, David Crisafulli, announced a “landmark inquiry” into the state branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Sunday, which he described as the “most powerful tool” at the government’s disposal.

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Queensland unions predict ‘hell of a bloody fight’ if LNP attacks nurses’ right to strike

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State government offered to backdate wages for nurses and midwives on condition they do not undertake protected industrial action in May

The Queensland union movement has warned the state’s conservative government it will be in for a “hell of a bloody fight” if it pursues threats to strip nurses and midwives of backpay should they enact their legal right to strike.

A pay dispute between the LNP government and the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) is ongoing after their previous enterprise agreement expired on 31 March.

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Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban

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State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%

Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.

Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.

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Australia news live: NSW health system ‘catastrophically let down’ toddler’s family, minister admits

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Two-year-old waited in emergency department for three hours before suffering a cardiac arrest and dying. Follow today’s news headlines live

Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year

Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.

Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.

The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.

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Australia news live: relief for Sydney morning commuters as train unions ordered to halt action; man charged over death threats to Jewish group

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First charge by AFP’s Special Operation Avalite established in December. Follow today’s news headlines live

Richard Marles will become the first minister to visit Kiribati in almost two years, AAP reports.

The deputy prime minister and defence minister is travelling to Kiribati for high-level talks with the nation’s re-elected government, which closed its country’s borders in 2024 while national elections were held.

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Woolworths sacks two workers and investigates dozens over alleged conduct during 17-day strike

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Letters seen by Guardian Australia focus on alleged pickets on 26 November outside warehouses that were not then on strike

Two workers have been dismissed and Woolworths has told dozens of warehouse employees it is investigating their alleged conduct during a recent 17-day strike that cost it more than $100m in sales.

In November 2024, about 1,500 warehouse staff across four of the company’s distribution centres in New South Wales and Victoria took industrial action over pay and workplace conditions.

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Labor declines to review three coal proposals for potential climate impact – as it happened

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More on the new Malaysia-based maritime institute:

The government is contributing $1.78m over four years to support the institute, which will train regional government officials on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, broader maritime law and ocean governance, awareness of maritime domains and environmental protection.

We don’t want to see any unilateral changes to the status quo across the Taiwan straits, and our focus is on doing everything we can in terms of exercising our international voice around promoting stability and peace in and around the Taiwan straits, in and around Taiwan.

Rules and norms are vital for our shared maritime region and the countries of our region make an ongoing contribution to maintaining and promoting them.

The institute will deliver training to officials from across the region on complex maritime legal and policy topics. It will nurture leaders and help further our collective contribution to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

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Woolworths takes $50m hit as strike leads to empty shelves

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The supermarket giant filed an urgent application with the Fair Work Commission to end industrial action blocking distribution centres

Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, says it has lost $50m in grocery sales since the start of industrial action that has disrupted the flow of goods into some of its stores.

More than 1,500 Woolworths warehouse workers have been on strike since 21 November, seeking better pay and safety on the job. Industrial action has affected up to five distribution centres, impacting supplies in some stores in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.

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‘Treating workers like robots’: Woolworths blamed for empty supermarket shelves as warehouse strikes continue

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Stores in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT affected as industrial action by up to 1,500 employees stretches into second week

Woolworths bears responsibility for the empty shelves seen in supermarkets across parts of Australia by attempting to treat workers like “robots”, the head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has said, as a strike of warehouse workers extends into a second week.

Up to 1,500 employees began rolling 24-hour strikes on 21 November in warehouses in New South Wales and Victoria, seeking improved wages and safety. One of the major issues is a new framework system employed at the warehouse that tracks workers down to the minute, and logs performance each shift using an algorithm.

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Sydney train strike: chaotic shutdown averted after 11th-hour crisis talks with union

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NSW government caves to rail union demands to prevent workers striking

A chaotic two-day shutdown of Sydney’s train network has been averted at the 11th hour after the state government caved to rail union demands to run 24-hour services to prevent workers striking.

However, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has warned that despite securing a two-week hiatus on industrial action amid tense negotiations with rail unions over a new pay deal, there is no guarantee that the threat of a city-wide rail shutdown will not recur in a fortnight.

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Uber to limit surge pricing and commuters urged to work from home amid Sydney train shut down

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Government to meet union officials again on Thursday after a Wednesday meeting didn’t resolve the industrial dispute

Sydney’s trains are set to shut down this weekend after an emergency meeting between rail unions and the New South Wales premier on Wednesday produced no solutions.

The government will meet leaders from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union again on Thursday in a final bid to avert industrial action from train staff, which would see trains stop running across the city on Friday, Saturday and into Sunday.

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Anger as CFMEU ‘sweetheart deal’ suspended in Queensland government crackdown

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Union members hit out at LNP as deputy premier announces pause on pay and conditions policy

A “sweetheart deal” for the CFMEU has been suspended in an unprecedented crackdown after the embattled union was blamed for major project cost blowouts.

Construction union “perks” were put on ice as the Queensland government stepped up a campaign to tackle the CFMEU, with some union members clearly not happy.

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Employers shortchanged Australian workers a record amount of super last year, tax office says

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The dollar figure of superannuation that went unpaid after recovery efforts rose to $5.2bn from $4.8bn in 2022-23

Australian workers missed out on a record $5.2bn of superannuation that employers failed to pay last financial year, according to the Australian Taxation Office.

The ATO has released the data on the superannuation “gap” in its annual report, which also reveals that $1.4bn is likely to go unpaid because it is owed by insolvent companies.

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Push to count ‘sleepovers’ as breaks could lead to 28-hour shifts for Australian care workers, unions warn

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Fair Work Commission to hear case brought by business group asking for change to safety net for care industries

A business push to count “sleepovers” as breaks in care industries could result in “nightmare” 28-hour shifts without penalty rates, unions have warned.

This week the Fair Work Commission will hear a case brought by the Australian Industry Group asking it to change the safety net for care industries to clarify that hours worked before or after a sleepover count as separate shifts.

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Australia news live: PwC reveals it sacked eight staff over data breaches; Perth man dies after being taken to police watch house

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Court to rule in Pauline Hanson-Mehreen Faruqi case

A federal court judge is ready to rule on whether Pauline Hanson made a racial slur when she told Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi to go back to Pakistan.

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Qantas ordered to pay $170,000 to three workers illegally sacked at start of pandemic

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Judge rebukes airline for ‘vast legal costs’ expended to defend claims of illegally firing baggage handlers

A federal court judge has rebuked Qantas for the “vast legal costs” expended to defend claims it illegally sacked almost 1,700 baggage handlers in 2020, as former workers move a step closer towards a compensation payout.

Justice Michael Lee ruled on Monday that three test cases should receive $30,000, $40,000 and $100,000. They suffered varying amounts of “non-economic loss”, the court ruled.

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‘Easier to buy your 10th house than your first’: Unions NSW joins push to reform negative gearing and capital gains tax

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Exclusive: Survey finds 72% of 2,158 workers want Albanese government to rethink housing tax breaks – particularly renters and over-65s

Unions NSW has thrown its support behind reform of the negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, arguing that the housing market is “fundamentally broken”.

The Unions NSW secretary, Mark Morey, is now calling on the Albanese government to reform the tax concessions and reinvest “profound savings” in housing, such as by expanding the Housing Australia Future Fund.

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Opposition leader calls for university’s leaders to quit – as it happened

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has joined an international push “to hold the Taliban to account” under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Wong says:

We know the women and girls of Afghanistan are effectively being erased from public life by the various edicts the Taliban … have issued.

The steps we are taking with Germany, Canada and the Netherlands are unprecedented. We are intending to use the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which Afghanistan is a party, to take action.

If I can … say again to the Australian Lebanese community. This is a deeply distressing situation for so many of you. I know that there are many Australians in Lebanon. There are many Australians who have relatives, family and friends in Lebanon. I again urge Australians in Lebanon to leave now. There are flight cancelations and disruptions, and there is a risk that Beirut airport may close for an extended period of time.

Please do not wait for a preferred route. Please take the first option you can to leave. We continue to monitor the situation closely. We have been working with partners on contingency plans now for many months but I again say to anyone who any Australian who is in Lebanon: please leave now.

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Australia news live: Labor’s preliminary refusal of Pep11 gas project ‘an amazing step forward’, Scamps says; total fire ban announced for parts of NSW

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On the double-dissolution threat floated by Anthony Albanese yesterday, Sarah Hanson-Young says:

Again, why, why be so bullish about this? The Australian people don’t need a panicked prime minister who wants to press the exit button because he can’t get his own way.

They want a government that’s willing to work across the parliament. Now, a third of Australians voted for parties other than Labor or Liberal at the last election. And they did that because they want a parliament that works for them.

We want to fix it. We want to give the government the opportunity to fix it. I’m not just interested in saying no to things. I want to get outcomes. I guess that’s my concern.

This prime minister seems to have such a chip on his shoulder, doesn’t want to work with anyone. Just wants to do it all his way. I don’t think this is a very good sign for the future. Come on, come on, prime minister, you know, let’s put – put aside the politics and get on with getting some outcomes.

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