Your Rights At Work Blog Posts RSS

Equal pay: an historic struggle that is continuing today

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:49:49 GMT

By Mark Phillips

The struggle for equal pay continues

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:48:30 GMT

Weekly round-up from across the globe: week beginning 30 August

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:39:23 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Australia will have better workplaces if rights are respected

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:44:11 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Weekly round-up from across the globe: week beginning 23 August

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:40:06 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Election 2010 cements rights at work as a core Australian value

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:20 GMT

By Ged Kearney

What's at stake this election?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:18:55 GMT

By Jeff Lawrence

The WorkChoices zombie is alive!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:13:29 GMT

By Tim Petterson

Exclusive: Liberals’ IR policy speaks to R@W News

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:54:44 GMT

By Mark Phillips

The story of “The Budgie Smuggler”

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:22:36 GMT

or
The YR@W ad the Liberals tricked YouTube into pulling down

Big surge in campaign activity

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:39:32 GMT

At the last election we voted out the Howard Government and WorkChoices.

ACTU President crosses the country to spread the word about WorkChoices: Never Again

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:18:03 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Young people and the election: some things to think about

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:54:14 GMT

By Matt Cowgill

Don't buy Abbott's conversion on WorkChoices

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:39:31 GMT

By Ged Kearney

Aged care workers want to be able to bargain in the modern economy

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:59:09 GMT

By Gary Bullock

Message from New Zealand: It happened to us, don’t let it happen to you

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:00:00 GMT

By Helen Kelly

It’s time Tony Abbott’s plans for Australian workers faced some real scrutiny

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:44:15 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Beware of Tony Abbott’s plan to bring in more cheap labour

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:17:51 GMT

By Mark Rasmussen

Federal Election 2010: PS policy positions at a glance

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:00:19 GMT

By Nadine Flood

Miners Union launches Fair Go For Billionaires Campaign

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:40:09 GMT

By Andrew Vickers

The election battlelines have been drawn

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:22:15 GMT

By Jeff Lawrence

Education Funding and the 2010 Election: stark differences between the parties

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

By Angelo Gavrielatos

New entitlements plan will go a long way to fixing one of the great injustices in our workplaces

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:10:24 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Talk of Campaign T-shirts: How and where to get them

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:31:34 GMT

The campaign is really off to a great start. Well we think it is when we get feedback saying people have seen the T-shirts and bumper stickers around their neighbourhoods; getting questions on how and where to get them is another positive sign.

Rights at Work activists take it to the streets

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:29:22 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Our Priorities: Working for a Better Life

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:59:59 GMT

Unions want a better deal for Australian workers and their families.

Does Tony Abbott ever side with workers?

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:18:29 GMT

By Tim Lyons

Your vote, your voice

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:04:18 GMT

For lots of Australians, this year's anticipated federal election will be the first time they have ever voted.

Welcome aboard to Ged Kearney, another formidable Australian woman

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:18:42 GMT

By Jeff Lawrence

Better super and more infrastructure for working Australians remain secure under mining tax changes

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:32:31 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Let’s make Australia asbestos-free

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:18:36 GMT

By Paul Bastian

Despite decades of litigation and lobbying, Australia is still riddled with asbestos and it’s time our federal government stepped up to provide leadership on this public health issue.

Great places to work

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:24:49 GMT

By Mark Phillips

Last week BRW (Business Review Weekly) magazine released its annual look at the best places at which to work.

A new Prime Minister but the task remains the same to advocate for working Australians

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:12:06 GMT

By Jeff Lawrence

So, we have a new Australian Prime Minister. What a momentous few days in Canberra, once again proving that a week is a long time in politics.

Forgecast case is important for all workers’ entitlements

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:59:50 GMT

By Cesar Melham

Last week, the Australian Workers’ Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union launched legal proceedings against a company director to claim more than $2 million in entitlements for retrenched workers.

It is believed to be the first time the new Fair Work laws have been used to sue a company director personally.

The Case for Equal Pay

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:48:44 GMT

By Hammy Goonan

Recently thousands of Union members took to the streets of Melbourne and other capital cities in support of the Equal Pay Case currently being heard by Fair Work Australia.

The Big Issues in 2010

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:52:22 GMT

There's been poll after poll on this and that and based on people here and there. It seems that there are a lot of issues and a lot of different angles and spin being put on the issues.

The World Cup: Rights at Work or a Glass of the Sponsor's Product?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:41:45 GMT

By Tim Lyons

In the last week at the World Cup, we saw one lesson about rights at work and one about the power of big business.

At last, all of Australia’s working mums gain paid parental leave

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:36:58 GMT

After a few nervous last minute jitters and Parliamentary argy-bargy, a national paid parental leave scheme became reality just after 5.30pm on Thursday.

Join us and help make history on equal pay for women

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:30:00 GMT

By Maree McDermott

Last week, I was one of the thousands who attended the national day of action on equal pay. I’m an ordinary woman struggling to pay the bills on the modest wage I receive as a community development worker, a job I’ve been doing for 25 years.

Minutes of Inaugural Meeting of Rich Bastards’ Union

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:32:07 GMT

By Peter Lewis

Congratulations to all comrades who attended the official launch of the Rich Bastards Union (RBU) at our official launch in Perth last week.

25,000 Australians have spoken, now it’s time for the Senate to do the right thing on paid parental leave

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:10:40 GMT

In a few short weeks, more than 25,000 Australians have signed a community petition urging the Senate to vote in support of the nation’s first Paid Parental Leave scheme, so it can be up and running by the start of next year.

Xstrata and the resource profits tax – an example of why you shouldn’t believe a mining corporation

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:55:09 GMT

By Peter Colley

As mining companies ramp up their scare campaign about the Resource Super Profits Tax, we are going to hear about more and more project “closures” and job “losses”. It pays to treat them with a grain of salt.

All Ark wants is to work in a safe environment and to have the same rights as all other workers

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:40:20 GMT

By Dave Noonan

Ark Tribe is a rigger and rank and file member of the CFMEU in South Australia. He was working on the Hindmarsh job at Flinders University in 2008 when a safety dispute arose.

The RSPT and Equal Pay - A Tale of Two Rallies

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:02:00 GMT

By Tim Lyons

What a contrast between yesterday’s rally of mostly men in suits in Perth and the rallies around the country today in support of equal pay.

Equal Pay Day of Action Live Blog

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:55:00 GMT

The "Your Rights at Work" team is on location in Melbourne for the Equal Pay Day of Action.

For NT’s Indigenous workers, rights at work is an ongoing struggle

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:47:26 GMT

By Kara Touchie

Seeing through Xstrata's scare campaign

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:27:22 GMT

By Tony Maher

If 3250 jobs never existed, can they still be used to batter a government over the head and frighten the bejesus out of mining communities? That’s what Swiss mining giant Xstrata is testing this week.

$26 a week rise for low-paid restores fairness into the setting of minimum wages

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:08:54 GMT

By Matt Cowgill

One of the most important roles played by Australian unions is to advocate for a wage rise for our society’s lowest paid, most vulnerable workers.

Fire bombing of CFMEU offices is an attack on us all

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:47:58 GMT

A car bomb is driven into an office building, shattering the calm of a quiet midweek evening. The building suffers massive fire and structural damage. Fortunately, the occupants had left minutes earlier and no-one was injured.

“WorkChoices. Whatever the name, never again” campaign begins to heat up

Mon, 31 May 2010 14:35:43 GMT

There has been a lot said about Tony Abbott's credibility but it isn’t difficult to see past his tricky words of “flexibility” and workplace “freedom” for their real meaning.

Opposition's hand-balling doesn't deliver the details

Fri, 21 May 2010 10:02:07 GMT

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott concluded his Budget 2010 reply in Parliament by hand-balling the details to his Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey. Mr Hockey, addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday (19/05), concluded by hand-balling the details to Andrew Robb, Opposition finance spokesperson.

Tackling Abbott’s public service cuts

Thu, 20 May 2010 11:34:48 GMT

Australia’s public servants are tired of being used as a political football and are blowing the whistle on Tony Abbott’s plan to shed 12,000 “non-essential” jobs, writes CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood.

Big miners’ scare campaign is all about self-interest, not the national interest

Wed, 19 May 2010 10:09:32 GMT

It’s no coincidence that the big mining companies running a scare campaign against the proposed resources tax are the same companies that poured millions into the campaign to keep WorkChoices.

Why complacency could be the winner in Australia in election 2010

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:23:25 GMT

By Sue Bellino

There are two very important factors that influence the outcome of the British General Elections. The first is the weather: when it’s very cold or its rains in the UK, it’s harder to get people out of their house to vote.

Rio Tinto workers win their David and Goliath struggle in California

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:08:45 GMT

Here’s some more good news for workplace rights.

A little while ago, R@W News brought you the story of the struggle against Rio Tinto by workers employed at the world’s largest borax mine in Boron, California.

The Liberals’ Budget reply sends a chilling warning to all workers

Sun, 16 May 2010 14:58:27 GMT

On Thursday (13 May) night, Tony Abbott, leader of the opposition, gave his Budget reply. And Mr Abbott sent a chilling warning to all workers: an Abbott-led coalition government will return the worst aspects of WorkChoices.

Why more workers are turning to unions

Fri, 14 May 2010 08:21:20 GMT

Australians are increasingly turning to unions to improve their pay and conditions.

Last year, there was a lift in union membership of 82,000 and the proportion of the workforce in unions grew from 19% to 20%.

Budget 2010: What's in it for working families?

Thu, 13 May 2010 16:14:46 GMT

By Matt Cowgill

In Budget week we hear a lot about deficits and surpluses, growth, tax, revenue and expenditure. It’s like Christmas for economists.

But what does it all mean for working people?

Workers should have 100 per cent of their entitlements protected

Mon, 10 May 2010 09:34:28 GMT

By Dave Oliver, AMWU National Secretary

Most people would remember the collapse of Ansett Airlines in 2001. Since then, Australian workers have had their entitlements protected by a government program called the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).

More Super. Good for workers, good for the economy

Fri, 07 May 2010 09:55:09 GMT

When the many achievements of Australian unions are recorded, one of the highlights will always be universal superannuation.

Rudd declares support for unions and union values

Wed, 05 May 2010 12:00:47 GMT

In the past few days, the leaders of Australia and the United States have made strong statements of support for the role of unions and unionism in building a better society.

Getting by on less than $15 an hour

Tue, 04 May 2010 11:55:26 GMT

In 22 years, Luzia Borges has outlasted four prime ministers and countless cabinet ministers.

On International Workers’ Memorial Day AWU demands politicians get a backbone

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:46:02 GMT

Politicians – of all political shades – are just too scared to stand up to BHP-Billiton and tell them that in a safe work place people should come before profits, AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes, said on International Workers’ Memorial Day.

LIVE: "WorkChoices: Whatever the name, never again" Launch

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:05:36 GMT

LIVE: Watch Sharan Burrow launch the ACTU's "WorkChoices: Whatever the name, never again" election campaign.

Welcome from Sharan Burrow

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the new Your Rights at Work website.

When we first launched the Your Rights at Work campaign before the 2007 Federal Election, it was widely acknowledged as breaking new ground in Australia not just for enlisting a broad community coalition opposed to WorkChoices, but because of our use of online technology and social media to communicate rapidly and directly with our 200,000 followers.

Unions as relevant as ever

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:43:21 GMT

There seems to be more than a couple of generations that have forgotten what unions have done for them (whether member or not) and continue to work towards for them. Unions have generally been at the forefront of promoting and advocating for workers’ rights and human rights. They have also been at the forefront of promoting new industries and helping businesses overcome development and growth barriers.

What's with Rio Tinto?

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:49:30 GMT

Blair Athol, Bougainville and Boron seemingly have nothing in common apart from beginning with the same letter of the alphabet.

From Copenhagen - 18/12/09

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:49:50 GMT

Victorians joined community leaders to show their solidarity in reaching a fair and just climate change agreement in the final hours of Copenhagen negotiations at a vigil at Federation Square today.

From Copenhagen - 17/12/09

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:42:22 GMT

Painfully cold weather or the uplifting experience of watching snow fall? Take your pick of description for a minus 4 degrees day and you could associate either choice with observing these negotiations. Without doubt the progress is painfully slow - but there is progress.

From Copenhagen - 16/12/09

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:31 GMT

While it's snowing outside, the temperature is definitely warming up inside the Bella Centre as the leaders begin to arrive in Copenhagen.

Letter from Copenhagen: Sharan Burrow

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:50:30 GMT

Cold, chaotic but critical is how I would describe Tuesday at the climate talks in Copenhagen.