Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the original inhabitants of this land, living in connection with it from time immemorial. All Australians must recognise and respect the rights, traditions, and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, denying their sovereignty and their rights, was a great injustice that continues to reverberate in Australia today. In 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was released. You can read the statement here. The statement is an invitation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to all Australians to walk together towards a better future. It says: We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Together supports this cause and is in full support of a referendum to establish the First Nations Voice. Our 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference was an an important part of the process to empowering the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers and this work will continue in 2023. As a union we recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original, sovereign custodians of this land. We stand in solidarity with their desire to be heard and their desire for substantive reform of Australian institutions in the interests of justice.
Queensland's correctional officers are on the front line every day. Our communities rely on correctional officers to keep everyone safe. That is why Together members are proud to celebrate National Corrections Day today. Thanks to the work of Together members, Queensland's correctional officers are the best-paid in the country. In 2022, Together members finally got a new EB certified, won a significant victory on superannuation entitlements, and saw the successful resolution of the long-running 12/12 dispute, meaning that most custodial correctional officers will receive pay increases of at least 10%. All these pay increases are more than richly deserved and they would not have happened without Together members. Of course the work of union members is far from done. The work of corrections officers remains difficult and dangerous. Every worker deserves a safe place of work and Together corrections members are still standing strong in 2023 for improved safety in our prisons. If you're a correctional officer, the best thing you can do for safety, for better working conditions, and for your colleagues is to be a member of Together. On behalf of the entire community, we want to celebrate and recognise the vital front-line work of Queensland Corrections staff.
Thank you for everything that Together members have achieved in 2022! Once again union members have made the difference in our communities and our workplaces. If you are taking a break these holidays, we hope you stay safe and well and you get to spend time with your loved ones. The Together Office will close on Friday 23 December 2022 and will reopen on Tuesday 3 January 2023. Stay safe and well and see you in 2023!
Union members like you called on decision-makers to pass this Bill to make it simpler and fairer for working people to bargain for better workplace conditions. And on 2 December, we won. For too long, workers have been restricted by an overly complex bargaining system, making it harder to join together and improve pay and conditions. We need better workplace laws to even the balance for workers. Passing this Bill is a step in the right direction. The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill will: Get wages moving again by modernising our bargaining laws, making it simpler and fairer to negotiate for better pay and conditions and banning job ads below the minimum wage Address the gender pay gap by banning pay secrecy clauses so workers can openly talk about their pay, requiring the Fair Work Commission to consider gender when making pay decisions, delivering better flexibility for workers, and improving protections on sexual harassment Create secure jobs by restricting the use of rolling fixed term contracts as well as requiring the Fair Work Commission to consider job security when making decisions Well done to all ASU members who campaigned and made this happen. Together, we can make our workplaces & society fairer.
On Monday 28 November the Respect At Work Bill passed the Australian Parliament. Union members across Australia have been campaigning for this action and it's great to see that the Respect@Work Report recommendations have finally been enshrined in law. In putting a positive duty on employers this legislation helps to put an end to the myth that sexual harassment is just part of work. Sexual harassment can, should, and will be eliminated from Australian workplaces - and union members are committed to making that happen. Well done to all members and activists who have not stopped campaigning for the protection of workers against sexual harassment at work. Read more at Women's Agenda
Are you planning on leaving work on time today? Today is National Go Home on Time Day, a campaign that Together has been supporting since it first began. The idea is very simple! Australians work too much unpaid overtime, and we want to do something about it. Across Australia, unpaid overtime exacts a terrible toll. Australians worked a total of 2.5 billion hours of unpaid overtime in 2022, worth $93 billion per year. That's a windfall for employers. But it hurts family budgets, reduces consumer spending, and damages the economy. Worst of all, it makes it even harder to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Step one: Go to this website, to find out how much time you are losing because of unpaid overtime. Step two: Go home on time today!
Optus’ recent data breach has left around 10 million customers (approximately 40% of the population) worried about their private data and the potential illegal activity it could be used for if accessed by hackers. Many Australians sadly didn’t have long to wait: in the weeks since the Optus data breach a number of other companies have had cyber security breaches, including Medibank, Vinomofo and MyDeal (owned by Woolworths), compromising millions of customers’ information. How do I know if my identity has been stolen? Unfortunately, people often find out their identity has been stolen the hard way – they notice unexplained charges or withdrawals from their bank account, new credit cards they didn’t apply for or their application for a loan is unsuccessful due to a bad credit score. What can I do if I think my information has been exposed? A useful website for finding out if your email or phone number has been in a data breach is haveibeenpwned.com. Simply enter your email or phone number in the search bar and it will tell you which breaches you were ‘pwned in’. What can I do to protect my data from future breaches? It is the responsibility of companies to ensure that your data is safe and protected from any privacy breaches. Don’t click on links in suspicious-looking emails or text messages. Never provide personal information over the phone (legitimate companies will never ask you to read out your password or pin). There’s no such thing as being too cautious, so if something feels off, be sure to trust your gut. What are my rights if my data is breached? If you have been a victim of identity fraud, you can report this to the police and also appeal with your financial institution to rectify any unauthorised purchases or loans. Our class actions team is investigating potential legal action against Optus on behalf of millions of current and former Optus account holders. If you or someone you know has been affected by the data breach, you can register your interest to be involved in the class action. It costs nothing to take part and you will receive updates about the investigation into any potential action and compensation you may be entitled to.
It’s Trans Awareness Week! Each year between 13-19 November, organisations around the world take part in Trans Awareness Week to raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues facing the trans community. Every year, Trans Awareness Week finishes in the Trans Day of Remembrance to remember those trans people who have lost their lives due to the violence and discrimination that exists towards trans people in our communities. Together is proud to celebrate the power, strength, and leadership of trans Together members this week and every week. There are many barriers for trans and gender diverse workers in the workplace including fear of exclusion, lack of staff education on trans issues, cost & time of medical appointments, fear of missing out on promotions and intrusive questions. Union members believe that every worker deserves to be safe and respected at work and have a strong history of standing up for LGBTIQ+ rights. There is a lot of work we can do together to make sure that trans and gender diverse workers feel safe at work and in accessing the services Together members deliver in the community. This week, it’s important that allies take time to learn how to support trans people and share the stories of trans people in our lives. Here are some resources: Trans Awareness Week resources from Minus 18 Trans @ Work from Queensland Human Rights Commission Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the Workplace from trans organiser Jackie Turner How to be a Trans Ally – Minus 18
Free 2023 wall calendars are available to all Together members. Together members value the opportunity to plan their year with one of our popular free planners. As a member, It's easy to secure your free planner for 2023: Just use our form to indicate where we should mail your planner, and how many you would like. Happy planning!
New legislation - the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill - has been introduced into Parliament. The aim of this legislation is to modernise the bargaining system in Australia and help workers get the pay increases they deserve. The current national collective bargaining system has not been delivering workers pay increases in real terms over the last ten years. Sign the petition here to ask your Senator to support the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill and get wages in Australia moving again. The Albanese government is aiming to have the bill passed by the end of 2022, but this will rely on the actions of Senate crossbenchers. The Australian union movement has been campaigning for government to address the cost of living crisis, because prices in Australia continue to rise while wages are stagnant. Union members have been clear that there needs to be legal change to allow workers to secure pay increases. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said: We must get wages moving in this country. People are working hard, but they are now seeing their wages go dramatically backwards after a decade of seeing them go nowhere. This cannot continue. Australians deserve to see the benefits of their hard work, especially at a time when CEO pay packets have increased 41 per cent and profits for big business by 25 per cent.