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

Council workers face loss of penalty rates, overtime pay: no one safe from IR laws says ACTU 12.04.07 | Media Release Thousands of Council workers are facing the loss of weekend penalty rates, overtime pay and public holidays as their employers launch a concerted bid to bring Council employees under the Howard Government’s new IR laws it has been revealed...

Workers’ rights to Easter public holidays are being slowly but surely eroded under IR laws 04.04.07 | Media Release No extra pay for working the Easter weekend is becoming the norm for workers in the retail sector as more employers use the Coalition Govt’s new IR laws to abolish public holiday penalty rates say unions. The well-known chocolate shop...

Intergenerational report shows Fed Govt is failing to lift productivity & participation 02.04.07 | Media Release Treasurer Peter Costello’s release of a new Intergenerational Report today shows that the Howard Government is failing to lift Australia’s productivity and participation rates in preparation for an ageing population says the ACTU. ...

ACTU calls for $28 a week pay rise for over one million award workers Media Release The ACTU has today called for a pay rise of $28 a week for more than a million award workers to reverse the slide in living standards that Australia’s working families are experiencing under the new IR laws. Releasing its submission to the...

ACTU rejects big miners' backing for Liberal's AWA individual contracts 22.03.07 | Media Release The ACTU has labelled a report released today by the Australian Mines & Metals Association backing the Howard Government's AWA individual contracts as inaccurate and self serving.   Speaking from Perth in Western Australia...

ACTU calls for immediate release of Zimbabwe opposition leaders 14.03.07 | Media Release The Australian Council of Trade Unions joined with other trade unions around the world today to condemn the assault and detention of Zimbabwe’s opposition and trade union leaders, including Morgan Tsvangirai leader of the main Zimbabwean...

Women now earn $100 a week less than men: ACTU analysis shows widening gender pay gap 07.03.07 | Media Release A new ACTU analysis shows women in full time jobs now earn $100 a week less than men and that the pay gap for working women is getting wider. Full time women now earn on average 10% less than men — the same gender pay gap as 1978, almost...

Federal Govt neglect of manufacturing industry is costing Australian jobs: ACTU 06.03.07 | Media Release The Federal Government’s refusal to stand up for Australian jobs is putting at risk the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our manufacturing industry says the ACTU. Commenting on Holden’s decision to axe more than...

Attacking teachers won't improve education says ACTU 22.02.07 | Media Release The Howard Government's push for performance pay in schools is an attack on the professionalism of Australia's teachers that will not improve our education system says the ACTU.   ACTU President Sharan Burrow said today:  ...

Unions to pursue climate change solutions including carbon trading scheme, renewable energy sources and green building codes 16.02.07 | Media Release Unions are holding a national meeting today in Sydney to develop solutions to the growing problem of climate change and global warming that will protect jobs, including those of coal miners, and at the same time put Australian industries on a more...

ASIC launches civil penalty proceedings against James Hardie directors 15.02.07 | Media Release The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced today that it has commenced civil penalty proceedings against James Hardie Industries and others, including Ms Meredith Hellicar, Mr Peter Macdonald, Mr Peter Shafron. The...

ACTU Proud Of Union Campaign To Win Justice For Asbestos Victims 08.02.07 | Media Release ACTU Secretary Greg Combet has expressed great pride in the role of unions and union members in achieving justice for the victims of James Hardie asbestos products.   Mr Combet said today:   After six years of struggle,...

QANTAS Workers in NT Worried by Fed Govt Refusal to Protect Their Jobs in Airline Takeover 08.02.07 | Media Release Qantas workers at Darwin airport will today meet with union president Sharan Burrow to discuss their concerns over the Federal Government's refusal to provide a guarantee that Australian jobs will be protected in the proposed $11 billion sale...

New poll shows voters want Federal Govt to stand up for Australian jobs and oppose Qantas sale: ACTU calls for Parl. inquiry 05.02.07 | Media Release 80% of marginal seat voters say Federal Government isn't doing enough to stop Australian businesses being sold overseas and jobs lost offshore Polling of voters in Coalition-held marginal seats released today shows strong public opposition...

ACTU urges James Hardie Shareholders to support asbestos compensation deal 01.02.07 | Media Release Australian-based shareholders of James Hardie will be briefed on the proposed compensation deal for asbestos victims at an Extraordinary Information Meeting being held by the company in Sydney tomorrow (Thurs. 1 Feb, 2007).   ...