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On this International Women’s Day, there’s much to celebrate – from the tough, tireless working women who fought for better conditions, liveable wages and autonomy throughout the last two centuries; right through to the victories won by working women over the past year.
Did you see the gender pay gap figures that were announced yesterday? It happened because unions fought – and won – to bring in new laws that force companies to publicly disclose the difference between male and female workers’ earnings. The numbers tell us that we’ve come a long way, particularly in the last few…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2024/02/28/gender-pay-gap-the-lowest-on-record/
The Diamonds, Australia’s incredible Super Netball team, have showcased not only their prowess on the court, but also their collective strength off it.
It’s the Matildas commitment to unionism and solidarity – as well as their skills with the ball – that sets them apart, particularly as one of the only national women’s football teams covered by a hard fought-for collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2023/08/18/the-mighty-matildas-a-force-on-and-off-the-field/
It’s easy to feel defeated in the face of ongoing gender inequality. But this International Women’s Day feels a little different.
Find out which International Women’s Day events are happening near you.
Step by step, union members are dismantling the barriers between working women and equal pay.
Today is the day that paid Family and Domestic Violence leave will come into force for businesses with 15 or more employees.
This year, workers across the country used their collective power to make unprecedented strides in the quest for a safer and more just world for women – at work and at home.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/12/16/an-awe-inspiring-2022-for-working-women/
A report from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) states that more than a third of female journalists have experienced online harassment, trolling and stalking while doing their job. But only 15 per cent are aware of a workplace policy to address such online abuse.
Public outcry and collective action have been indispensable to the fight against workplace sexual harassment. And behind the wave of progress in Australian workplaces have been thousands of workers in their unions, pushing every step of the way.
Multi-employer bargaining contributes to gender equality by raising wages in female-dominated industries.
It’s hard to believe we face a gender pay gap in Australia that still sees men take home an average of $263.90 more than women per week. But thanks to generations of women working together, that gap has shrunk.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/11/18/how-far-have-we-come-with-equal-pay-for-women/
Personal care workers in the aged care sector will receive a well overdue 15% interim wage increase, thanks to decades of advocating from three unions. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) and the Health Services Union (HSU) supported by the United Workers Union (UWU) each lodged applications with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/11/11/15-pay-rise-in-aged-care-a-win-for-women/
It’s easy for bosses to virtue-signal about self-care without providing the necessary means to prevent burn out and other hazards in the first place. But in order to actually practice self-care, workers need time and financial security to do so.
This new legislation will shift the burden of responsibility of victims onto employers by introducing a positive duty on employers to take all reasonable action to prevent sexual harassment at work.
Today, parliament passed a bill that will enshrine 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave as a workplace right for every worker in Australia.
There are many ways workers spend their lunch break. Some tuck into food in the breakroom. Others leave the desk or worksite and go for a stroll.
One woman headed down to a busy building in Melbourne’s CBD and chained herself to the front door of a busy building.
Reproductive leave would allow workers to take five days paid leave to cover IVF, endometriosis, hysterectomies, and any pain, discomfort or treatments associated with menstruation and menopause.
Imposter syndrome isn’t just a lack of self-confidence or the occasional feeling of being out of your depth. It’s that creeping doubt that leaves you second-guessing your skills, talents, and achievements.
Ten years ago, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard stood up in Australian parliament and spoke the iconic words that have been replayed nearly 4 million times on Youtube: ‘I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man – not now, not ever’. Gillard’s speech uncloaked the sexism prevalent in Australian parliament –…
Whether it be standing up against the denial of ten-minute breaks or embedding climate action into the workplace, young union members are making progress for now and the future.
The first five years of a child’s life are a critical period in human brain development. More than two decades of research has shown that interactions between educators and children are pivotal for optimal child learning – around language development, behavioural expectations, and emotional relationships. The effects of early childhood education are seen as far as secondary school.
Addressing the cracks in the sector is long overdue. The care compact provides more than job improvement for workers. It is an investment in the dignity and quality of life of the many Australians – young and old – who depend on carers.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/09/02/australias-care-crisis-requires-an-industry-overhaul/
countries around the world that rank better than Australia in 2022. Forty-two. What does this say about our quality of working life here?
If your colleague felt stuck in a workplace that was unwelcoming of their identity, do you think you would be able to recognise it?
Step aside Great Resignation, there’s a new work culture trend in town. ‘Quiet quitting’ is sidling into Australian workplaces but, despite its label, the concept has nothing to do with leaving your job.
There are hundreds of thousands of stories that show the cruel consequences of the gender and Indigenous superannuation gaps. But there is no reason why we can’t change these entrenched inequalities in our retirement system.
For over a decade, unions campaigned for 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave in the NES so that no worker would miss out. We were met with constant opposition by the former Coalition Government, but we never gave up. Today, while we celebrate the introduction of paid FDV leave into parliament, we also stop and remember all the lives lost too soon and the struggle that continues.
Paperwork and bureaucracy should never stand in the way of people with disability accessing essential support. But cutting through this red tape is not only a structural barrier, but also a burden that has fallen mainly on women.
‘Early Pay Access’ apps are increasingly popular in Australia under the guise of an employee ‘benefit’ – but ultimately they take advantage of already vulnerable workers.
Employers didn’t offer up super contributions with unprompted goodwill – the right to superannuation was entirely union member driven and won. Today the whole nation benefits. That is the power of collective action.
Workers in unions have always stood up for LGBTQIA+ rights, and this includes fighting for climate justice, as climate change is an LGBTQIA+ issue as much as it is a worker’s issue.
The mental load is defined as ‘emotional and cognitive labour’ made up of all of the logistical tasks that have worry, stress or emotion attached to them – thinking about planning dinners, kids parties and clean school uniforms for example. Unlike domestic labour, there is no end to the mental load.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/06/17/the-mental-load-leads-to-burn-out-for-women/
A safe workplace seems like it should be the bare minimum right for all workers but up until this week it wasn’t acknowledged as a right for all workers worldwide. After years of campaigning by workers across the globe, the fundamental right to a healthy and safe workplace has been recognised in international law at this…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/06/10/workers-across-the-world-win-a-new-fundamental-right/
A number of recent memes and articles pronounce the girlboss dead. And maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/06/03/girlbossing-too-close-to-the-sun-harms-working-mums/
After years of tireless effort from union members and community activists, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has made an in-principle decision that workers covered by modern Awards should have access to 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/05/28/for-women-time-does-not-always-equal-money/
You may have seen a few memes lately about Scott Morrison and a $1 pay rise – and there’s good reason.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/05/20/how-1-per-hour-can-help-close-the-gender-pay-gap/
After years of tireless effort from union members and community activists, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has made an in-principle decision that workers covered by modern Awards should have access to 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave.
We need to make ten days of paid family and domestic violence leave a reality. This is the call from the Australian Council of Trade Unions as the Fair Work Commission conducts a review into Family and Domestic Violence leave entitlements in modern Awards.
Being a union leader and working mum produces a huge variety of challenges but not always the ones you might expect.
When we place an Uber Eats order, we would never guess that if a woman is delivering the meal she is likely earning 37% less for that order than if a man delivered it.
Employer policies or contracts that prevent workers from discussing their pay with their workmates means that challenges to the gender gap are silenced in many Australian workplaces.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/04/13/why-pay-secrecy-clauses-are-sexist/
Frontline workers have spoken about the absolute necessity of 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave at a Fair Work Commission hearing.
Women are much more likely to take career breaks to care for children, which is why Australian Unions call for super to be paid on all parental leave – paid and unpaid.
We have joined more than 60 diverse community organisations as the Power2Prevent Coalition and we have called on the Morrison Government to act now to implement the remaining recommendations of the Respect@Work report.
These women have a clear message for Scott Morrison: you can’t walk away from women.
It’s been an excruciatingly long twelve months under the Morrison Government.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/03/12/women-marched-forward-morrison-marched-back/
Morrison talks as if women were still newcomers to the Australian workforce, let alone acknowledge how the category of ‘woman’ has expanded.
While Liberal politicians were munching on their International Women’s Day cupcakes, we weren’t prepared to sugar coat reality. If Morrison wanted to sweeten the millions of women going to the ballot boxes in a couple of months, he should have had a second look at his own track record. Hundreds of women marched from Spring…
History has shown us that equality and safety at work has not been delivered by business lobbyists but by generations of women union members demanding change.
Gender inequity does not happen by accident. It is a result of deliberate policy decisions made by this Government that we have seen happen time and time again.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/03/03/a-budget-that-failed-more-than-half-of-australia/
While the Government is busy breaking promises to half the population, union members look out for each other’s wellbeing and safety.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/03/02/where-is-the-respect-for-working-women/
We’ve selected the top five ways in which the Prime Minister has let down the women of Australia during the last twelve months.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2022/03/01/five-times-morrison-has-walked-away-from-women/
In July 2020, Australian Unions released our plan for National Economic Reconstruction. The first part of that plan was the provision of appropriately funded, free childcare. Back in 2020, as the pandemic started to rage across the world, the the Commonwealth government recognised that childcare is an essential service. It committed $1.6 billion to offsetting…
For new families, a sense of financial security is undeniably valuable. But, on the other hand, so is spending quality time with young children and being there to support partners during the ups and downs.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/11/18/were-taking-action-for-fairer-paid-parental-leave/
Australian working women are hoping that 2021 is a year that will be remembered for generating real change leading to gender equality. Because we should not have to wait for respect, safety and equality.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/11/17/women-sexual-harrassment-speech-michele-oneil/
We were all together that day back in March. Thousands of Australian women in marches for justice because enough is enough. I was there with ACTU President Michele O’Neil in Canberra and I too had had enough. On that day back in March, I remember thinking, these women, this rally could be the start of…
Women to the front! It was today in 1969 that legendary unionist Zelda D’Aprano chained herself to the Commonwealth building to protest for equal pay for women. You’ll probably recognise this iconic image of Zelda chained to the government building. It’s in history books across Australian high schools, profiled in museums across the nation and…
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/10/21/zelda-daprano-equal-pay-protest/
Menopause can impact work, so why aren’t workplaces talking about it? Let’s take a look at how workplaces can become more menopause friendly.
https://www.australianunions.org.au/2021/10/12/menopause-in-the-workplace/
On this day in 1856, Melbourne's Stonemasons fought for – and won – the 8-hour workday as a nationwide industry standard.
Unfair rostering disadvantages workers in insecure work: unions are calling for for roster justice.
