Unions want a better deal for Australian workers and their families.
It's important that we have an Australia with a fair go for all; rights at work for all workers; time for family and friends and decent jobs with decent incomes and a secure retirement.
We don't think these things are too much to ask for.
This election will be important because we must continue to move forward with workers' rights and to restore fair and balanced workplaces. We've seen among other things, the end of WorkChoices; an increase in minimum wage by $26: and Australia's first ever universal paid parental leave scheme starting next year.
It's fair to say that we've made some pretty good achievements in the last 3 years, but there is still much to do. It's important to know what we'll be fighting for into the future.
Unions are continuing to work to strengthen workers' rights to secure better wages and conditions in our workplaces. We want to provide all workers with equal rights, especially those in the construction industry and stop bad laws putting workers' health and safety at risk.
It's important to make sure women get equal pay for work of equal value and have better job opportunities. Give workers better support and more skills as industries change is another important goal as is seeking full protection for workers' entitlements when companies collapse. We shouldn't have to lose our homes when we lose our jobs when the companies we work for collapse.
Australia has an excellent health system but there's always remove for improvement. Unions and the community have always fought for improvements. We want to further improve Medicare and our health and hospitals system and ensure there are enough skilled and fairly paid workers to deliver high quality health and aged care for all.
We can make sure that we keep growing jobs and taking advantage of new industries as the global economy changes, recovers from the global financial crisis. It's about creating decent jobs, strengthening local industry and achieving more sustainable economic growth, including through serious action on climate change.
Ensuring our public and social services are funded by progressive and equitable taxation is important for all Australians.
We think it's also important to give all Australians access to high quality education and vocation training, as an investment in our future; and we can ensure teachers and education workers are treated with respect.
With so much more to do, can we really afford to go backwards now?
We are seeking your help to ensure that we can achieve these things and more into the future.
What can you do?
You can help by signing up to help with campaign activities; and spreading the word about our campaign to your friends, family and co-workers. Talking about the kind of future we want for Australia's workers and their families is important.
R@W News is a forum for news, analysis and commentary about rights at work and related issues. The opinions presented in R@W News are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent policies or views of the ACTU.