ACTU Executive outlines future agenda for working families

The Executive of the ACTU met in Melbourne this week to adopt a new campaign plan to improve the wages, working conditions and superannuation of working families. The national union body will discuss a platform of issues for unions to take into workplaces including: Increases to superannuation Improved skills and training commitments Work and family measures aimed at increasing workforce participation Regulation of casual work through improved job security measures Consultation around workplace change Climate change solutions ACTU President, Ms Sharan Burrow said that despite 16 years of positive economic growth and record high company profits working families were under increasing financial pressure. Ms Burrow said: “The core issues facing working families are income pressures, lack of support for families at work, the need for adequate retirement savings and the increased level of casual and contract work.

“Eleven years of the Howard Government has seen many working families go backwards, and the use of AWA’s under WorkChoices has led to hundreds of thousands of employees losing important job conditions including penalty rates, shift allowances, public holiday pay, annual leave loading, redundancy pay and other conditions. “It is not good for the economy for families to go backwards, or for families to lose their capacity to pay their bills. “The union movement will be leading the way in campaigning for real wage increases for families under pressure, increases in superannuation to improve retirement incomes and other conditions such as increased skills and training commitments that will be good for workers and good for the Australian economy.” ACTU Executive Resolution - Finding the balance for working Australians and their families Despite sixteen years of positive economic growth and more people in work than ever before, many Australian working families are under tremendous financial pressure. Successive interest rate increases, rising personal debt, and spiralling costs of petrol, childcare, health care and education mean that working Australians are struggling to meet their day to day costs of living. Wage increases are an important means of easing the financial stress on workers and their families, particularly the low paid. Read more...download the attachment for the full text of the ACTU Executive Resolution - Finding the balance for working Australians and their families.

Thu Mar 2008 10:03 (10 months, 1 week ago)