For the last two years, the Queensland Rail Shift Roster Team has been made to work in a small unassuming room off the main control room in Queensland Rail's Rail Management Centre located at Bowen Hills. In the original building designs, this room was designed as a storeroom or a meeting room. Senior QR Management thought it appropriate to stick the Shift Roster Team in this room and expect them to work on a rotating 24/7 roster in unsuitable conditions. The room stinks. It is too hot in summer ( it is pretty typical to reach 30+ degrees), it is too small to permit proper social distancing, and in general, it is not exactly comfortable for three people to work in. After two years of trying it alone with Management, the Team have asked the RTBU Office to help them TEAR DOWN THE WALL! For context the wall is non-structural, the office next door is vacant most of the time, and by increasing the space for the Roster Officers they will be able to include an additional Shift Officer in their team to assist with their heavy workloads. But we need your help, we want to make it clear to Queensland Rail that cooping our Members into a tiny, unsafe, and uncomfortable room for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is not good enough. We want the Shift Roster Office Team to know that they have the full support of our Union in this fight and that they have the collective strength of our Union behind them all the way in this fight.

In Victoria, the largely unregulated private rehabilitation services mean that working people are often confronted with re-mortgaging their house, taking out loans, or withdrawing their superannuation to pay for services that can cost up to $30,000 per month. Victoria’s rehabilitation system is mostly inaccessible for working people, as most stays are between 3 months and 12 months. In Australia it takes an average of 20 years for a person to seek assistance for addiction due to shame and stigma and this is a trend that is appearing across all shop floors and all industries across the State It’s clear that the current system of treatment isn’t working and requires fresh ideas and methodologies for providing suitable treatment to working people and their families and funding models that work both for patients, employers and the government. We are proposing a tri-partisan collaboration with Odyssey House for a 28-day inpatient treatment facility funded and owned by the trade union movement after an initial investment from the Andrews’ Labor Government coupled with the establishment of an outreach and outpatient service, inclusive of toolbox talks for delegates, health and safety representatives, organisers and working people from all sectors with the support of trade unions, employers and the government. We need innovative, sophisticated solutions to complex issues such as addiction. We know that we have the most cost-effective, fit-for-purpose model for working Victorians to ease the burden on our already overcrowded healthcare system. Workplace support and early intervention are crucial in supporting workers combating addiction and mental health struggles. The opening of The Crossing will change the lives of workers struggling with addiction — as well as those of their families, their workmates, and their community.

Wage theft and exploitation are facts of life for migrant workers. Many have to make the impossible decision of tolerating abuse or risk losing their visa, which results in many choosing to put up with exploitation to avoid deportation. Employers in Australia have far too much coercive power when dealing with migrant workers which allows abuse to occur. The Migrant Workers Centre has found that 53% of workers surveyed were forced to work overtime, whilst 27% confirmed they could not say no to unsafe work. These statistics are far higher than any other grouping of workers and this needs to change. The incoming Australian Government has a golden opportunity to address this as we welcome migrant workers back to Australia post COVID. Send them a message by signing that you too want greater protection and justice for migrant workers.

There is currently very limited capability to safely perform Specialised Rescue. (this means Trench Rescue, confined space rescue and rope rescue) The rescue capabilities in the Ballarat region need to be addressed as a matter of urgency due to the fact that: • Emergency management in Victoria is unable to safely rescue victims in a timely manner • Firefighters and first responders are being exposed to a Workplace Health and Safety Risks, both physical and mental This has been an issue since at least 2014. Timeline: 2014 United Firefighters Union (UFU) notifies the Napthine Government and all MPs that there is an issue around insufficient specialised rescue capabilities, particularly in the Ballarat Region. Operations were carried out in an extremely ad hoc manner, with equipment (planks etc.) being purchased from hardware stores. There was two Provisional Improvement Notices (PIN) put on the Ballarat City trench rescue operation and WorkSafe got involved. In response, the CFA essentially got rid of their trench rescue operations entirely in Ballarat. They just took it off the list of capabilities, failing to solve the problem. 2018 On 21 March 2018 one man was killed and another seriously injured after a trench collapsed in Ballarat. Tragically the second worker died in hospital the following day. The two men, Charles Howkins and Jack Brownlee, were working constructing sewer at the site when the collapse occurred. 26 March 2018 (2 days later) The UFU sent a letter to the Minister for Emergency Services. The UFU received an email from the Minister acknowledging receipt of correspondence. Nothing further was ever communicated. July 2018 Trench Victim’s Families wrote to the Minister to bring the issue to their attention. 2022 Victim’s Families wrote to State Labour Government Ministers and MPs to inform them that there is still no specialised rescue capability in Ballarat. From 2014 to 2022 - The UFU and FRV Personnel have been raising concerns requesting resolution of this gap in capability. The problem has still not been resolved. Throughout this entire period, first responders have continued to attend to specialised rescues, but without the resourcing they need. It is quite simple what Ballarat needs: 1. Equipment An Appliance for Specialised rescue; there are 2 purpose-built units sitting in Melbourne. They were built 8 years ago and have never been deployed, they just sit around gathering dust. There is space at the Lucas Fire Station to permanently house one of these units. 2. Staff Enough trained firefighters to provide a specialised rescue team on all shifts. (10 Crew to cover all 4 shifts, and a reliever shift) 3. Training Ongoing specialised rescue training. 4. Mapping Mapping of local area resources to see if other agencies and organisations could assist with expertise, equipment and resources through MOUs.

The benefits of implementing a cashless system on WA Buses are not just for drivers, but also the travelling public. Cashless public transport systems around the world provide evidence of increased efficiency and decreased boarding times, decreased timetable delay, and most importantly, a safer system for bus drivers and the travelling public.

The proposed operating model will kill commuters, it will traumatise Drivers, Guards, Station Staff and other commuters unnecessarily when we have a good current operating model that relies on teamwork as per the Kembla Grange derailment where the Guard excelled in his duties. This will increase culpability on the rail operators and result in more lost time injuries to staff.

Workers at Honey Birdette deserve a workplace that’s free from bullying, harassment and sexist standards. In 2015, Honey Birdette workers launched the Not Your Honey campaign and won a WorkSafe investigation into the sexual harassment and bullying at Honey Birdette. Seven years later, harassment and bullying at Honey Birdette boutiques is as bad as it has ever been. Employers have a duty to provide a workplace free from sexual harassment and gendered violence but clearly Honey Birdette’s Directors are providing an environment that enables sexual harassment.

The Palaszczuk Government has failed to provide direction to universities to ensure a safe and healthy university sector in Queensland. As a result, Vice-Chancellors have made different plans at different universities, creating confusion and inequity and placing staff and students at risk. We need Queensland Health and the Department of Education to sit down with the NTEU and university managements to come up with a uniform plan to make Universities as safe as possible. All university staff, students and their families should sign this petition.

Currently in Australia, a Royal Commission is looking into the shocking cases of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with a disability and Inclusive Education has been recommended during the hearings, utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 9 and 24 (see reference below). These UN Articles can’t be properly implemented in our public schools unless we provide access to people who use wheelchairs. 15-20% of people in Australia have a disability. It makes sense to include disabled people in our community - we are not going away! If you have an understanding of inclusion and don't believe in segregation in our public schools, please sign this petition and share it so we can make this change for our future generations to learn to accept diversity from the time they start school. Thank you for sticking up for those who might be a little different you! Remember - it could be you next who might need to use a mobility device and need to be included... https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/

A COVID-19 outbreak at Melbourne’s historic Mitre Tavern involving nine staff occurred after an infected customer had visited the pub. Workers allege that management failed to inform them they may have been exposed to the virus until after staff members began testing positive to COVID-19. At a Melbourne cafe with close to 100 staff, workers say the venue’s Christmas party on Monday 20 December may have acted as a super-spreader event. On Tuesday 21 December workers told the union their colleagues began testing positive and informed venue management. Workers then said the venue waited until Thursday 23 December to inform all staff that they may have been exposed, and advised them to get rapid tests and isolate if positive. The venue continued operating until Christmas Eve before closing for two weeks. Staff estimate at least 50 workers became infected across the days leading up to Christmas. Meanwhile in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, a hospitality worker at a bar/restaurant has reported being called in to work while isolating and awaiting the results of a PCR test. Management also failed to tell staff at the venue when their coworkers had become infected. Workers estimate that approximately 40% of venue staff ultimately became infected with COVID-19.

Scott Morrison has left people who are sick, or working in essential jobs, unable to access the Rapid Antigen Tests they need to keep them safe and keep things running. RATs should be free and accessible for all through Medicare. Because Scott Morrison failed yet again, they are not. He failed to deliver a national quarantine system, stuffed up the vaccine rollout, has left our aged care system in crisis, our hospitals struggling to keep up – and now we don’t have access to the tests we need to keep our workplaces and our families safe.

Unions and business urged Scott Morrison to make rapid antigen tests free back in October. He could have chosen to act but he did nothing. The UK and US Governments have already acted to make rapid covid tests free and accessible to their citizens, once again Scott Morrison is leaving Australia behind. Right now, a single test can cost up to $20, if you’re lucky enough to find a chemist that still has them. That’s $100 for a family of five. That might be small change to the Prime Minister, but it’s out of reach for many families. When asked whether he would make rapid antigen tests free for Australians who need them, Mr Morrison suggested it wasn’t the Government’s job to fix the problem anyway. When a journalist specifically put to Mr Morrison that “not everyone can afford Rapid Antigen Tests”, the PM glibly replied, “some people can, some people can’t”. We've seen time and time again that when the going gets tough, Scott Morrison goes missing. We can't afford this inaction right now. It's time for the Federal Government to step up and make rapid antigen tests free and accessible.