Media Releases
Read current and past media statements from the ACTU.
All ACTU media enquiries should be directed to ACTU Media team:
T: 03 9664 7315 (24 hours)
E: media@actu.org.au
Recent Media Releases
Majority of Australians think minimum wage too low: new poll
April 17, 2017
New polling released by the ACTU today show the vast majority of Australians understand what Malcolm Turnbull does not: that the minimum wage is too low and must be increased.
Handing our kids out as free labour in the PaTH Program will replace real jobs, do nothing to help unemployed
April 3, 2017
The Turnbull Government is ploughing ahead with the deeply troubling PaTH ‘internship’ program despite significant community concern about the impact the program will have on vulnerable young job seekers.
Minimum wage must be increased by $45 a week to avoid American-style working poor
March 29, 2017
Australian Council of Trade Union secretary Sally McManus today announced the union movement’s call for a $45 a week increase to the minimum wage. A real increase to the minimum wage will address rising cost of living, inflation and boost the economy.
Penalty rates decision, cutting pay, must not go ahead: ACTU submission to the Fair Work Commission
March 24, 2017
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has joined with affiliate unions in making a submission to the Fair Work Commission asking that the ruling on cuts to Sunday penalty rates not be implemented
Australian Unions welcome Senate Inquiry into racist CDP
March 23, 2017
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) welcomes the referral of an inquiry into the Turnbull Government’s punitive Community Development Program (CDP) to the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee.
Union Parmalat victory a warning for business and the government
March 20, 2017
The ACTU welcomes the resolution of the Parmalat dispute in Echuca, with Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) and Electrical Trade Union (ETU) members voting to accept an agreement that includes wage rises, improved redundancy provisions, and mandated consultation if contractors are brought in.
Penalty rates cuts devastating for Coalition in WA: new poll shows
March 20, 2017
Penalty rates were a key factor for voters in the recent Western Australian state election, a new exit poll commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) shows.
Statement from ACTU President Ged Kearney on National Job and Skills Summit
March 17, 2017
Australian Unions welcome the ALP’s focus on jobs and skills training, and congratulate Bill Shorten for taking a proactive approach to this key area of economic policy that has been comprehensively mishandled by the Liberal Government, leaving a range of challenges that must be urgently addressed.
Statement from Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus
March 16, 2017
Australia has been built by working people who have had the courage to stand up to unfair and unjust rules and demand something better.
Sally McManus Elected Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
March 15, 2017
The Australian Council of Trade Unions’ (ACTU) Executive has elected Sally McManus as the new Secretary.
Sally is the 10th elected ACTU Secretary in the organisation’s 90-year history and the first woman to hold the prestigious position. She fills the role vacated by former Secretary Dave Oliver, who left the ACTU in January. Sally was previously an ACTU vice president.