Media releases ACTU media releases are ordered chronologically. Use the advanced search function to find media releases on specific topics.  Subscribe to media release updates. ACTU media enquiries Mark Phillips Media Coordinator T: (03) 8676 7266 F: (03) 9600 0050 M: 0422 009 011 mphillips@actu.asn.au Amanda Nguyen Media and Communications Project Officer T: (03) 9664 7326   F: (03) 9600 0050 M: 0418 479 455 anguyen@actu.asn.au

New poll shows strong support for Rudd ‘health revolution’ with more workers the number one priority 17.03.10 | Media Release New polling by the ACTU shows that working Australians are worried that our health system is getting worse and not better and improving Australia’s hospitals and healthcare system is now the top national issue.

Low-paid workers must share in the economic recovery; unions to seek $27 a week wage rise 17.03.10 | Media Release | Jobs, Rights & GFC Unions will seek a $27 a week pay rise for workers on minimum wages who deserve their fair share of the economic recovery after unfairly shouldering the burden of the downturn.

Proposed Pacific trade agreement must deliver for workers, jobs and the environment 15.03.10 | Media Release A proposed trans-Pacific trade agreement must create good jobs and protect the rights and interests of working people.

Laws should protect building workers, not persecute them, says major new report 12.03.10 | Media Release | Rights on Site Unions have welcomed a new report which says the Australian Building and Construction Commission is in breach of international laws and fails to protect workers.

Equal Pay Campaign starts today with launch of national test case for social and community workers 11.03.10 | Media Release | Equal Pay The newly-formed Equal Pay Alliance will today call on all political parties and employers to properly value women’s work and close the 17% wage gap between men and women once and for all, as it launches a national equal pay campaign in Canberra.

Abbott’s paid parental leave proposal is a dishonest smokescreen for WorkChoices 08.03.10 | Media Release | Paid Parental Leave Liberal leader Tony Abbott’s paid maternity leave proposal is a dishonest smokescreen for the reintroduction of WorkChoices.

$50 pay cuts for young workers on the cards with Tony Abbott’s plan to bring back WorkChoices 07.03.10 | Media Release Australian workers will suffer cuts to their pay and conditions and lose protection from unfair dismissal under Liberal leader Tony Abbott’s plan to bring back WorkChoices, warns a new national union TV ad campaign launched today.

Unions endorse action plan to ensure that workers are protected under new award system 04.03.10 | Media Release Employers must give commitments that they will not use changes to the award system to rip off workers’ pay or conditions.

Sex discrimination has no place in workplaces; Qantas and other employers must lift their game 03.03.10 | Media Release Australian employers, including some of the nation’s biggest companies, must lift their game to end sex discrimination in the workplace and improve pay and opportunities for women.

Reserve Bank’s latest rate hike adds to the need to give low-paid workers a decent wage rise 02.03.10 | Media Release Today’s rate rise by the Reserve Bank will add to the living costs of working families and underlines the need for a decent increase to minimum wages this year.

New push by highly-paid company executives for a return to WorkChoices is a sign of blatant self-interest 23.02.10 | Media Release | Rights at Work A new round of lobbying by big business for a return to WorkChoices is a sign of blatant self-interest among the executives of highly profitable multinational corporations.

Employers should not use the new award system as an excuse to cut pay 19.02.10 | Media Release | Rights at Work Employers should not use the new award system as excuse to rip off workers and cut their pay and conditions.

New Liberal plan to scrap minimum hours of work will hurt more than 2 million casuals 18.02.10 | Media Release | Rights at Work More than two million Australian workers would face major pay cuts and lose their job security under a new Liberal plan to scrap the requirement to pay casuals for minimum hours of work.

A quarter of workforce to lose unfair dismissal protection under Liberals’ new WorkChoices 17.02.10 | Media Release | Rights at Work More than 2.3 million workers - almost one in four - will lose protection from unfair dismissal under the Liberals’ WorkChoices Mark II.

Workers stand to lose $$$ under Liberal plan to scrap penalty rates and bring back WorkChoices 16.02.10 | Media Release | Rights at Work Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party will scrap penalty rates and unfair dismissal protection and reintroduce individual contracts for Australian workers if they are elected later this year.