I was pleased to meet with United Voice ACT representatives following on from their name change in March this year from the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU). The name change for this union is an exciting new phase for their future. United Voice is running several exciting national campaigns to improve the lives of [...]
industrial relations
My morning walking in the shoes of a childcare professional
Childcare professionals have always had my respect for the important work they do, the long hours and the nurtuting and educational care they provide to other people’s children in those critical early childhood years. But I have a new appreciation for the complexities and stress associated with their profession now that I ‘walked in their [...]
Holy Grail’s Fine a Win for Hospitality Workers
The Federal Magistrates court has fined the Holy Grail restaurant/bar in Kingston and Civic almost $30,000 for breaching workplace relations laws. Holy Grail first came under investigation in 2006 following complaints by skilled migrant workers working on 457 visas that they were being underpaid. Further investigation by the Workplace Ombudsman found 24 breaches of the [...]
Liberals will take Work Choices even further if given the chance
Senator Kate Lundy and Peter Conway, second ACT ALP Senate Candidate, today launched the ACT Labor Senate Campaign by highlighting how the Liberal Government will take their extreme Work Choices legislation even further. John Howard has conceded he would “finetune” his laws after the next election saying earlier this year”We don’t have any changes in [...]
Labor’s plan to put the focus back on OH&S
Today Senator Kate Lundy visited the Electro Skills training centre to talk to apprentices about Federal Labor’s plan for occupational health and safety. The Howard Government has failed to address significant issues in the area of workplace health and safety because of its ideological obsession with Work Choices. In contrast, Federal Labor believes that policy [...]
Immigration and Multiculturalism Forum
Immigration and Multiculturalism Forum On Tuesday 11 September 2007 I hosted an Immigration and Multiculturalism Forum at Parliament House. Over 130 people attended to discuss Labor’s policies regarding immigration and multicultural affairs. Mr Tony Burke MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Integration and Citizenship, and Mr Laurie Ferguson, Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, addressed the forum [...]
August – Lundy IR Update
WorkChoices……busting the myth Those of us opposed to the WorkChoices legislation always knew that the devil would be in the detail and so it has been proven. The Howard Government’s refusal to conduct any research or analysis either before or after the commencement of the WorkChoices laws has been a disgrace. If the Government was [...]
Workplace Ombudsman delays leave local worker waiting for action
While the Government has been spending up big on a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to try and reinvent it’s unfair workplace laws, the Workplace Ombudsman has been slow to act on a local employees complaint. A local Canberra casual employee, Jessica Shepherd, lodged a complaint with the then Office of Workplace Services on the 9th [...]
Radio Kate: Workplace Laws Key NSW Election Topic
Transcript At a “politics in the pub” function organised by State Labor Candidate for Bega, Wilma Chinnock, in Moruya, the focus was on how Peter Debnam will spread the Howard Government’s extreme Work Choices laws in NSW. We now know that it is people working in the retail and hospitality sector that are losing the [...]
Women Worse Off Under Work Choices
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that women are worse off under the Howard Government’s extreme new workplace laws. The ABS figures reveal that under Work Choices, women employed on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA’s) earn less per hour than women employed under a collective agreement. On average, women working full-time under [...]
