Find out how Federal Government changes to workplace laws will affect your rights and living standards.

Get involved in a new national campaign...

Newcastle Trades Hall Council is taking up the fight alongside the ACTU, Unions NSW and other regional Trades Hall Councils to protect the basic rights and living standards of working Australians and their families.

In conjunction with the ACTU Your Rights At Work website, we plan to update this webpage with all the latest news and resources to continue and win this campaign. This webpage will contain news, information and resources to help union members and the public, including the latest news and updates:

National Day of Community Protest
Stand Up For Your Rights


Energy Australia Stadium
Turton Road, New Lambton
Thursday 30th November 2006

Assemble 8.30 am for 9.00 am Sky Broadcast

Followed by:
Guest Speakers WA 107 Worker Mal Peters
CFMEU Construction & General Division National Secretary Dave Noonan

All enquires (02) 4929 1162

Download flyer to distribute and encourage as many people as possible to come along and voice their concerns at the Government WorkChoices legislation:   National Day of Action 2.pdf

Download all you need to know about the Government's plans to take away your rights at work fact sheets here:

Summary 

Fact Sheet 1 

Fact Sheet 2 

Fact Sheet 3 

Fact Sheet 4 

Fact Sheet 5 

Fact Sheet 6 

Women

Download Rights at Work Resolution and Charter - a statement of your basic rights for you, your workmates and your employer to endorse:

Charter

Download Speech Notes & PowerPoint Presentation

http://www.actu.asn.au/work_rights/tools_resources/speech.html

Download Petition:

Petition

Send a message to the Federal Government that Australians should have basic rights at work, including decent minimum wages and awards conditions, protection from unfair dismissal and the right to reject AWA individual contracts and negotiate collectively with their employer.

Please print out the petition below and get your workmates to fill it in.

Send completed petitions to the ACTU:

393 Swanston St,

Melbourne 3000

Fax: (03) 9663 8220

MAKE SURE YOU SEND PETITIONS BEFORE 31 JULY 2005!

Download Posters:

Poster 1

Poster 2

http://actu.asn.au/work_rights/  

SKYCHANNEL DELEGATES BROADCAST

27TH MAY 2005

ATTENTION HUNTER UNION DELEGATES

Your Rights At Work Campaign continues with a State Wide Delegates briefing through Sky Channel on Friday the 27th of May at Cardiff Panthers (formerly Cardiff Workers Club). Please be aware that the SkyChannel broadcast has been scheduled for:

Download Flyer

Unions Launch National Week Of Action To Protest Govt's

New Workplace Laws

Australian Council of Trade Unions

ACTU 27 June 2005

Hundreds of thousands of workers across Australia are expected to take part in a week of activities beginning today to protect the rights of working Australians and oppose new Federal Government industrial relations changes.

Unions will today (Sunday) launch their national week of action in Brisbane where workers will converge on Kangaroo Point Cliffs at 10.00am (lower picnic area - Lower River Tce). Launching the week of activities in Brisbane today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: "The aim of the week of activities is to inform as many people as possible that their basic rights, job security and living standards are threatened by Howard Government plans to radically change Australia's workplace laws.

The Government takes control of the Senate on July 1 and plans to use its new powers to push through changes to Australia's workplace laws that include: A wage freeze for 1.6 million award workers.

Employment Minister Kevin Andrews has confirmed that Govt changes to the way minimum wages are set will mean low paid workers will not receive a pay rise for at least the next 18 months.

Removing protection from unfair dismissal for 3.6 million workers. All people employed in companies with less than 100 staff will lose protection from unfair dismissal. This will particularly affect Australians working in rural and regional communities.

Allowing employers to push workers onto individual contracts that cut take-home pay and reduce employment conditions to only 5 minimum standards. Effectively abolish State industrial relations systems and the award safety net.

The award safety net will be replaced with just five conditions - a minimum hourly rate of pay (currently $12.75), sick leave, annual leave, unpaid parental leave and a 38 hour working week. Many workers will lose conditions like weekend, shift and public holiday rates; overtime; redundancy pay; and allowances and loadings.

This week union members across the country will be meeting and taking to the streets to protest the Government's new workplace laws. Major rallies are planned for Thursday 30 June in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and regional centres including Geelong, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville and Bunbury.

An important focus of the national week of activities will be to inform people that are not union members about the Government's new workplace laws. The new laws will affect all Australian workers whether they are in a union or not. In fact it is those workers who do not have the protection of a strong union who will be most vunerable to their negative impacts.

The Government's new workplace laws will take working families backwards at a time when many people are already struggling to keep their heads above water. That is why unions are committed to oppose the Government and fight for decent workplace rights for all Australians," said Ms Burrow.

 Ban Individual Contracts for under 20s says ACTU

As more young workers speak out about bullying and pressure to sign AWAs

Australian employers should be banned from pushing young workers on to individual contracts Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Greg Combet said today. The ACTU has renewed its call for the Federal Government to stop employers from putting workers under the age of 20 onto individual contracts following more reports in the Sydney media today of young workers being bullied, pressured and threatened with discrimination if they didn't sign individual contracts that removed their penalty rates and cut their take home pay. Mr Combet said: "It is farcical for the Federal Government to argue that a young worker going for their first job is in any sort of position to negotiate an individual contract with their employer.

"The problem with the Federal Government's plans to push more workers onto individual contracts is that many workers, including a lot of younger workers, simply don't have equal bargaining power with their employer. "Individual contracts mean that these workers are vulnerable to exploitation - to being bullied and discriminated against if they refuse to sign an individual contract, or to having their conditions and take home pay cut if they do sign. The Government keeps talking about choice - well that doesn't sound like much of a choice to me. "Under the Government's individual contracts Australian employees would be increasingly forced into a situation where they have to negotiate on their own for rights and conditions that they are already entitled to.

This will take working families backwards at a time when they are already struggling just to keep their heads above water." Today's Sydney Morning Herald contains reports of young workers at US doughnut chain Krispy Kreme being bullied into signing individual contracts that removed their right to penalty rates, overtime and allowances and cut their take-home pay. The contacts, which had been approved by the Federal Governments Office of the Employment Advocate, meant that one young worker had to work for 16 ½ hours straight without any penalty payments or overtime loading being paid.

All new employees were made to sign the contracts. Existing workers who did not sign are alleged to have been subject to pressure from management including threats that employees work hours would be cut and promotion opportunities would be denied if they did not sign the contracts. Most of the workers were between 15 and 18 years old. Pressure on them to sign was so great that at least one worker was brought to tears.

Last week a South Australian Court also found that young workers, as young as 15 years old, from Bakers Delight had been pushed onto a Federal Government approved individual contract that abolished annual leave and sick leave and cut their pay by 25%. "The Federal Government should move immediately to protect young workers from this sort of ill treatment and exploitation and ban employers from pushing young workers onto individual contracts," Mr Combet said.