The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the social inequality many young people have experienced for too long. While the world tries to manage an unfolding pandemic, this crisis has led to insecurity in housing, income, and study without action from our government. This crisis will affect all aspects of the lives of students and young people. Casual workers, most of whom are students, have no guarantee that they will get paid if their workplace is to shut down or they must self-isolate. Working people need to know they don’t have to make the decision between going to work sick, or self-isolating and not being able to pay their bills. At Universities, our campuses are closing and moving online, while ongoing fears about fees and future of study, especially for international students, remain unaddressed. So many questions remain unanswered, but what we know is that if this continues, bills will stack up, evictions will occur, and income support payments will be lost. In its silence, our government is finalising a generation of inequality for today’s young people. As they move towards announcing their second stimulus package, young workers and students are begging for support. The Morrison government is yet to respond to our concerns. Instead, focusing on lining the pockets of business and giving out one off welfare payments that will fail to bring students out of poverty. Students and young people cannot continue to be left behind. This statement is endorsed by dozens of student representatives from around the country, representing hundreds of thousands of students whose livelihoods and futures are under threat. We are demanding action. The government must finally take leadership during this crisis and support the Australians who have been forgotten. Workers, students, and young people need action to protect their income, housing, and study. To fail at this now will hurt this nation for years to come.

No university worker should be forced to choose between quarantine and feeding their family. The Coronavirus Covid-19 crisis is engulfing Australia - and our universities are in the eye of the storm. Right now, job security is health security and we need university Vice-Chancellors to do the right thing by staff, students and the public. That means securing our rights at work so we can protect our health at home. No-one can predict how long this crisis will continue - perhaps weeks or months. That's why we need to lock in firm commitments from university employers now to keep things fair, and keep us safe.

We are in unprecedented times and as workers, we are petitioning for the Government to introduce an Epidemic and Pandemic Special Leave Policies.  We encourage the Government to recognise that this is an unprecedented situation and as front line transport workers, working with people and their goods, and continuously exposed to the potentially sick patrons, we are at a heightened risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.  We seek the Government to provide special leave to individuals who do not have sufficient sick leave to cover their absence or carer’s leave to look after an affected family member - be their employment contract a casual, part-time or full-time contract. Read more about the risk Qantas and Jetstar workers are facing here: https://www.theage.com.au/national/union-fears-deadly-risk-of-poor-cleaning-on-qantas-jetstar-flights-20200316-p54amu.html

We are saying with one big loud voice: it’s time for the Federal Government to step up and support casual workers and the businesses that employ them. Everyone besides this government understands that casual workers cannot afford to go into quarantine for two weeks without pay. Nor can these workers afford to go on Newstart which is just $40 a day and below the poverty line. And many workers aren’t even eligible. No one wants casual workers going to work who are sick simply because they can't afford to lose pay. Lots of businesses are doing the right thing and supporting their staff. But many small businesses are already on their knees from the bushfires and they face another massive blow from the Coronavirus. Now is the time for real leadership. We need this government to step in and ensure all workers forced to take leave because of Coronavirus can do so, and not be left out of pocket.

The possibility of university-wide shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 virus is a terrifying one for casual and insecure workers who have no sick pay or leave entitlements. In Australian public universities, more than half of all teaching at our universities is delivered by casual staff, we are not marginal we are the backbone of the sector. This means that in the event of a shutdown, thousands of university staff are facing the loss of income they rely on to pay the bills and keep food on the table or even job losses. Casual workers who become sick in the coming weeks and months will have to decide whether they can afford to self-isolate or quarantine. This is both unconscionable and dangerous. The responsibility for this disastrous situation lies squarely on the shoulders of university managements who have responded to declining public funding by building an insecure workforce – all while enjoying some of the highest salaries in the world for university executives. So far, only Macquarie University has guaranteed access to sick pay and leave for casual staff in the event of self-isolation or shutdown. This is a welcome decision and we call on all other universities to follow their example. Currently, universities remain open for business, but the COVID-19 travel bans and public health crisis have given spendthrift universities across Australia an excuse to cut jobs. Frontline teaching staff have already lost work and more job losses are threatened. At the same time, staff workloads have intensified as student support needs have escalated. Despite the number of unknowns facing Australian universities, one thing is certain: domestic and international students will need more support – not less – because of the disruption caused by COVID-19. A well-staffed university workforce is fundamental if we are to meet the needs of students during this public health crisis. Casual staff must not pay the price for the COVID-19 outbreak. We are not a ‘soft expense’ to be cut when convenient, nor should we have to choose between our health, the health of our students and colleagues, and putting food on the table. By March 18 all universities must guarantee: · Casual staff continue to be paid if they are required to self-isolate. This is a basic requirement to secure the welfare of casual staff and ensure the safety of the university community. · Casual staff continue to be paid in the event of university shutdowns, even if they are unable to work from home. Casual staff perform work in teaching and research that is core to the mission of universities. Retention and support of casual staff must be a university priority. · Stop job cuts and austerity measures. Universities need more – not less – frontline staff to support and retain students through this difficult time. Endorsed by: NTEU UniMelb Casuals Network, NTEU ANU Casuals Committee, NTEU UoN Casuals Collective, NTEU UQ Casuals Caucus

As Australians, we stick together with our mates – we don’t leave people behind. But there are 3.3 million Australian workers with no access to paid leave – this represents 32% of all working people. If these workers become ill they will either attend work sick or potentially be subject to self-isolation quarantine at home without means to pay their bills. We can't wait - people are already being forced to go into quarantine and losing income. Many workers are also being forced to use their leave and some are even being stood down without pay. We are demanding that the Morrison Government guarantee two weeks paid special leave for all workers. Sign this petition to demand access to two weeks paid special leave for all workers affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As the media is click baiting audiences through fear mongering with false statistics and reports but also out casting minorities in our society and not taking due responsibility in a so called ‘time of crisis’.

I created the petition based on the myriad of scandals the Morrison government is embroiled in. The prime minister isn’t honestly dealing with allegations of corruption and rorting. He isn’t taking climate action seriously and the political/financial interference of the fossil fuel industry is likely behind that. He’s hell bent on rolling out of the Indue card despite evidence of how it disadvantages the most vulnerable people. And there’s an overall lack of accountability, transparency and integrity. Where is a Federal ICAC? The list goes on. I could also include the unwillingness to implement recommendations from Royal Commissions, the poor response to the bushfire crisis, and the rise of right wing extremism, and claiming a surplus from the NDIS underspend while splashing money around dodgy contracts with Indue, Paladin and others with links to the LNP. I truly believe that if enough ordinary people stand up we can let politicians know that democracy belongs to us and not to them. They should serve the public good and not just be in it for themselves, and the power that comes with their elected positions. When they make bad decisions, they need to take responsibility and be answerable to us. I’m sure there’s enough of us who want to give the prime minister the message: Scotty from marketing - we’re not buying what you’re selling.

The National Tertiary Education Union and the Monash Student Association, call upon Monash University to work with our student and staff communities to understand the link between campus accessibility, sustainable transport and affordable options for low income earners. We demand: Monash University articulates transparently how parking parking permit money is spent. Monash University invests in sustainable transport options such as an expanded free inter campus shuttle bus service Monash University proactively advocate for an improved bus service offering from transport hubs and the city to Monash campuses Capped permits for staff in line with their pay level Reduced costs of permits for those who study/work part-time Day parking permits be reduced to no more than $10 a day

The Tasmanian University Union is a core part of student life at UTAS. The TUU runs student initiatives, events, provides leadership opportunities, advocates for students on campus and is an employer to many staff who work tirelessly for students. In 2019, UTAS slashed funding of the TUU to $430,000, down from $900,000 in 2018. This is a whopping 52% funding cut. This massive cut to TUU funding comes just 12 months out from the funding agreement end between UTAS and the TUU. It is clear that UTAS is using this cut as a steppingstone to cease funding the TUU and thus close down the student union. The TUU is negotiating a particularly difficult time as it undergoes a transformative program, experience revenue loss from the closure of the Co-Op Bookstore, and suffers the cuts imposed on it by the university. TUU staff redundancies were being considered as part of the transformation program, but with these cuts, the redundancies go from being potential to inevitable. To protect students, to protect workers, and to ensure that the TUU can keep serving students and providing student community culture on campus we, as students of the University of Tasmania, are calling upon the Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black and UTAS to reinstate full funding of the TUU to 2018 levels and to commit to funding the student union past 2021.

Long distance truck drivers in WA are made to endure third world working conditions in Australia in 2020. Truck drivers shouldn't have to squat behind a truck, or in the bush, when they need to go to the toilet, or go several days without having access to clean showers. It is double standards when the Government is regulating and legislating around fatigue management yet truck drivers have to skip rest breaks because the truck rest area is taken up by holiday makers. These improvements are not only extremely important for truck drivers’ safety and mental wellbeing but also for the Western Australian economy, and for the future of the transport industry. Truck drivers should be treated with respect, and afforded the dignity to do their work in appropriate conditions.

Crown is now trying to distance itself from Dinner By Heston, but it’s clear they’ve been in partnership with Dinner By Heston from the very beginning. A report by insolvency administrators BRI Ferrier shows: Crown gets just ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR in rent from Dinner By Heston. Crown has backed Dinner By Heston with an interest free loan of $750,000. Crown pays Dinner By Heston almost TWO MILLION dollars each year in licensing fees. Crown also provides Dinner by Heston with a wine cellar stocked with $500,000 worth of wine. Restaurant sales go into a Crown bank account and Crown manages all restaurant bookings. In fact the report also states that Crown created the “blueprint” for jobs at Dinner By Heston, and this was “applied over several years and resulted in the underpayment of employee wages”. The facts are clear: Dinner By Heston is not just a tenant at Crown. It’s a joint venture with Crown, and that means Crown was complicit in the wage theft. It’s time for Crown to step up and take responsibility by ensuring that Hospo Voice members get their stolen wages and entitlements and that members on temporary visas are sponsored.