CPSU Federal Office

The Federal Government is drafting workplace reforms after COVID-19 has affected business and the economy and the ACTU is raising concerns that the Government focus will be to withdraw worker protections and listen to employer groups who want to cut pay and conditions.  Sally McManus has said there are “concerning signs” the government is poised to side with employer groups calling for industrial relations reforms that would cut take-home pay.  The ACTU is now urging the industrial relations minister, Christian Porter, not to jeopardise Australia’s recovery from the Covid-19 recession by ha

The Federal Government have delivered a budget which will leave workers behind and fails the jobs test by not saving existing jobs or creating secure new jobs nor ensuring the recovery is fairly shared. The budget projects high unemployment and stagnant wages for the foreseeable future despite 1 million Australians out of work now and another 1.5 million looking for more work. The Government has centred this budget around tax cuts which benefit wealthier Australians as well as tax handouts to corporations with cash to spare.

Striking new polling data from seven leading countries shows overwhelming public support for policymakers to crack down on companies using tax havens. The polling, conducted in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK, shows unmatched levels of support ranging from 87 per cent to 95 per cent. Participants were asked their views on measures to tie public funds used to bail out companies during the coronavirus pandemic to their record on paying tax, and ending the use of tax havens.

CPSU is happy to announce the winner of the CPSU (SPSF) National Child Protection Delegate Award 2020 is Sue Flatters from Rural After Hours in Victoria. The Child Protection Delegate Awards are held to recognise the contribution of Child Protection Delegates to their field and their union. Members are asked to nominate delegates who are working to make child protection better for their colleagues and the children they protect. Sue was nominated for her tireless work representing Rural After Hours and Division staff during a very stressful period over the past year.

Congratulations to the SASS Team at Shoalhaven High School NSW who are our winners of the CPSU (SPSF) School Support Staff Awards for 2020. CPSU's school support staff awards were created to recognise the contribution of our school support staff members to their school community. The award is for a school support team that best demonstrates the union values of fairness, equality, and opportunity in the community. The SASS team at Shoalhaven High School was nominated for their continued work supporting and providing stability for their school community.

It has been a year like no other.  Nobody could have predicted that in just a few months what we all thought was normal would be thrown on its head and we would see governments deliberately shutting down business, closing our borders and curtailing our movements.  As a state we can be proud of what we have achieved together in Tasmania during this pandemic. We had the outbreak in the North-West but that was jumped on very quickly and avoided the catastrophic situation we have witnessed elsewhere. 

School Support Staff work together every day to make schooling happen.  To acknowledge their great work, we are asking for nominations from schools of a school support staff team who should be recognised for their contribution.  If you know a team you would like to nominate, you can do this here.  To be eligible for the prize, the team needs to consist of CPSU members.  If those who are nominated aren’t members yet, they can

Australian Unions have launched a survey on the impacts people are experiencing whilst working from home during the pandemic. The survey will help unions gain insights into workers’ attitudes to WFH prior to this becoming a more permanent feature of work into the future.  The results will be used to build a claim for working people of what concerns exist and what protections need to be built into any WFH system if this is to become part of the ‘new normal’.  You can take the survey here

Australia’s rate of unemployment is going up, and FAST!  That's why are we launching a National Jobs Plan.  We know young people, women, and workers in rural and regional Australia are being hit the hardest. Without a plan that addresses the issues of job insecurity, inequality and record-low wage growth, unemployment is likely to get worse.

Australian Unions will be launching a National Jobs Plan at the National Press Club, on Wednesday, 15th July.  At the National Press Club I will outline the plan, which focuses on three core areas:

This UN Public Service Day, workers stand on the brink. After a decade of brutal austerity, pay cuts and deteriorating conditions, Covid-19 has put staff around the world through the ultimate stress test.