National Weekend Warriors Day

You’ve probably seen the news – penalty rates for hospitality, retail and pharmacy workers could be slashed from July 1.

The good news is we can do something about this if we act now.

An aggressive bosses’ campaign has so far succeeded in creating rules that allow bosses to strip back weekend work protections leaving thousands of Australians at risk of a pay cut they can’t afford and don’t deserve.

These are the people who give up time with their loved ones on weekends and public holidays so that the rest of us can enjoy a meal out, grab some groceries or fill a script when we need to. These are people we know and rely on.

Right now its hospitality, retail and pharmacy workers in the firing line but if we don't take action to change the rules and protect weekend penalty rates, workers in other industries and professions will be next.

The good news is – cuts are not inevitable. Already, thousands of clubs and casino workers have had their weekend penalty rates secured.  How have they done it? With YOUR help! The loud and sustained community voice has helped convince employers that cutting weekend pay would be the wrong thing to do.

We know other employers are watching what happens.

That’s why on July 2 hospitality workers are asking the community to stand with them as one so we can ask the local businesses to agree to not cut the wages of their staff.

July 2 is National Weekend Warriors Day, where union members, supporters and people all over the country who don’t want to see cuts to penalty rates are taking action together. You can register online to receive a pack to take into your local club, pub, bar or café. The pack contains a letter to the manager or owner, some information for staff and customers and a pledge the business can sign to commit not to cut penalty rates for their staff.

We urge you to sign up now for a pack, to have the conversation and to be part of the action on July 2 when we ask the businesses that we support to do the right thing by the people who work for them.

Let’s stop this attack on wages and the weekend before it goes any further. Go here to be involved.

Together, we can protect penalty rates for all weekend workers.

In solidarity,



Sally McManus
ACTU Secretary




Australian Unions Team
http://www.australianunions.org.au/

(ACTU) secretary Sally McManus on termination of Enterprise Agreements

McManus reveals number one workplace law priority

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus has told striking Fletcher Insulation workers the peak body will demand changes to the Fair Work (FW) Act to stop employers threatening to cancel enterprise agreements (EA) during bargaining.

Speaking at the Fletcher picket on April 6, McManus said unions had to continue defeating employers "on the ground" every time they threatened to cancel EAs until the law was changed.

Fletcher applied on March 28 to have its EA terminated after workers had been on strike for some 40 days (WF 30/3/2017).

Fletcher and the union were in Fair Work Commission (FWC) conciliation today (April 12) to try to resolve the dispute.

McManus said when Fletcher and other employers threatened to terminate EAs, "every other boss is going to think exactly the same thing that - 'we will sit on this EA and pretend to negotiate, then we will threaten to cancel it'.

"We cannot have the situation where employers can have in their back pocket the ability to threaten to cancel EAs while negotiating with workers," she said.

"Blind Freddie can tell that is unfair because it totally changes the bargaining power that you have got when you are sitting at the bargaining table.

"It was never meant to be that employers would have a lever of power that would threaten to have workers dropped back to award (rates and conditions).

"We have got to change the laws. This is the only solution to this particular problem.

"It is one of the number one things that the ACTU will demand of politicians to act on."

On March 15, AWU had told the Senate inquiry into Corporate Avoidance of the FW Act the default for EA bargaining breakdown should be FWC arbitration (WF 16/3/2017).

Fletcher blue ACTU's number one dispute

McManus said she attended the Fletcher protest to inform strikers the ACTU would ensure they had the support of the rest of the trade union movement.

She said ACTU would ramp up fundraising to help the strikers.

"We are going to take your story from one end of Australia to another so that everyone knows what is happening here on this picket line so you never feel alone," McManus said.

"As the leader of the union movement across the country - you are our number one dispute at the moment."