As inflation continues to rise and working Australians are watching their money shrink with every bill and grocery shop, the pressure for millions is immense. There is a very clear reason why so many are feeling the pinch – and it’s intrinsically linked to deliberate actions taken by the Liberal National Government to benefit big business while sending working families backwards for over a decade.
Industrial laws were changed and amended over time by the former government to make it easier for big businesses to make decisions that grow their profits. At the same time, the industrial laws that protect the workers have been eroded to the point that workers’ wages have been suppressed, permanent jobs have been threatened as cheaper outside labour flood workplaces, and so the race to the bottom continues. A decade later, the system is so broken that the only real protection or recourse for working people is a strong and unionised yard with a union-negotiated Enterprise Agreement to improve safety, job security, conditions, and wage growth.
This is exactly why the TWU fights so hard to ensure that transport workers get a fair go in a system that has been working against workers for far too long. Right now, in Canberra, and right across the country with Federal and State Governments, the TWU is lobbying to fix the laws that exist for working Aussies. In yards across Victoria and Tasmania, the TWU is fighting for Enterprise Agreements which include job security, conditions that reflect the work that you are doing and wages that keep up with the cost-of-living. And, once these Enterprise Agreements are won, the TWU team is enforcing these conditions and holding the bosses to account on behalf of our members.
With a strong TWU-negotiated Enterprise Agreement, TWU members can rest assured that their workplace is safer, conditions are overwhelmingly favourable in comparison to non-unionised yards, and wages have and will continue to grow. When things do go wrong, TWU members can also rest assured that there is an experienced team of Victorian and Tasmanian TWU Officials ready to step in, enforce your agreement and ensure you are safeguarded against future shocks. We are stronger together and we will see you in your yard again soon.