Essential workers have continued to turn up to work throughout the pandemic. Already there have been over 700 public servants and disability workers infected with COVID-19 at work with disability workers also infected. Already we have seen PSA members in Disability group homes, Juvenile Justice, NSW Prisons, Private Prisons, transport, and now we are experiencing 100s of school closures and exposures. From the start of the pandemic there has been presumptive legislation to support essential workers when they get COVID with workers compensation, without the impossible task of having to prove you got it at work. This protects the following workers: -public health employees, -disability facilities, -educational institutions, including pre-schools, schools and tertiary institutions -police and emergency services -transport services, -libraries, -courts and tribunals, -correctional centres and detention centres, -places of public entertainment or instruction (including, museums, galleries, cultural institutions and casinos), The government has introduced a Bill to repeal these laws, which will mean that if you get COVID at work, you have to prove that you got it at work. The NSW Government has said that this change may take over $600 million out of the hands of injured workers and cut 75% of these claims. These cuts passed the lower house in November with all the Government members. The Bill has been referred to the Upper House Committee where it is likely to be voted on in February.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) review into Ambulance Victoria (AV) has found bullying, discrimination, victimisation, and sexual harassment are rife throughout the service. "We heard that some leaders at Ambulance Victoria – including senior leaders, managers, and other senior staff – are undermining organisational messaging on a commitment to workplace equality and respectful behaviour by displaying incivility or unlawful workplace behaviours and by failing to call out this behaviour when it occurs." (Page 296, VEOHRC Independent Review into Workplace Equality in Ambulance Victoria) AV staff have bravely spoken out about nepotism and discrimination, and no amount of policy and procedure can create a safe workplace when senior leaders who fostered this culture of workplace harm are in power. "We also heard that individuals who were known to have perpetrated unlawful conduct in the past at Ambulance Victoria had been promoted to positions of authority." (Page 281 VEOHRC review) To rebuild trust within AV, senior leaders responsible for fostering the “boys club” and offering promotion and protection to bullies, should be investigated and their employment terminated. Within AV’s latest People Matters Survey, only 34% of staff said they believed senior leaders demonstrate honesty and integrity. AV senior leadership has scored the lowest out of 17 Victorian public sector health organisations on integrity, honesty, inclusion and support. (Page 53, People Matters Survey) 5 of the 6 drivers of unlawful and harmful workplace conduct at AV are attributable to the AV Executive. (Page 278 VEOHRC review) A fundamental shift in culture requires an equally large shift in the senior leadership at Ambulance Victoria to lead the service out of the dark. The committed members of AV’s workforce who have endured years of inaction need to see change today.

Paramedics have made immense sacrifices throughout the pandemic. At times, many have felt scared to go home to their families, worried they will bring home COVID-19. The amendment provided the small comfort of knowing that if the worst did happen and we did become infected with COVID-19, at least we would not have to face the stress of proving our infection occurred at work. We cannot stand by and watch while our Government turns its back on the workers that carried this state through the pandemic. We're sending a clear message that NSW will not accept the cruel and short-sighted repeal of this amendment.

Workers have carried Australia through this pandemic. Many essential workers are still at constant risk of community or workplace exposure to COVID. Over two million casual workers do not have access to any paid annual or sick leave. Every worker, regardless of the employment they are in needs an industrial right to isolate on full pay. And all businesses deserve to receive compensation for this leave. Paid Isolation Leave is critical to make sure workers or someone they care for can safely test, isolate or quarantine – and keep their families, communities and workmates safe.

Without these health workers, the public health system would come to a grinding halt. It's not enough to call them heroes. These workers need an annual $500 COVID retention bonus in recognition of their drastically increased workload. It's the least the Victorian Government can do. Sign this petition. Join the campaign to recognise the hard work of Victoria's non-clinical public hospital workers. The Victorian Government needs to show it values these workers.

We are Care and Custodial officers who work for contractor Ventia under the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) Court Security and Custodial Services (“CS&CS”) contract. Some of us have worked in this role for 20 years and have not once received long service leave. The contract constantly changes providers and has been mismanaged since it was privatised by the Department of Justice in 2000. We work in a challenging role and a risky environment, transporting persons in custody to hospitals and keeping a watch on persons in custody who have left the prisons for the day, for whatever reason. The contract in its form is simply unsustainable. We deal with a high turnover of staff, untrained guards (often subcontractors the company uses to keep costs down), low morale, and low paid, insecure, casualized jobs. After being stonewalled on two occasions by the company and the Fair Work Commission when we tried to take protected industrial action, we are calling for the WA State Government to bring the contract back in house and provide us with safe, secure and reliable jobs we can count on.

Safety on the rail network is of paramount importance, and by trying to erode our conditions the NSW Government is lowering those safety standards and putting us all in danger. They are also trying to remove guards from trains - we believe this is an unacceptable risk. Australia has some of the best employment protections in the world thanks to unions fighting for generations to ensure a fair go for all Aussies. But it's a constant battle to maintain these conditions, and the NSW Government is trying to water down our rights and protections. We are fighting to save these for ourselves, for all other public service workers and for the wider community as a whole. The NSW Government imposed a wage freeze on all public servants last year, which amounted to a pay cut in real terms, even for those sectors who had already negotiated higher increases. This is despite a number of senior bureaucrats receiving huge pay rises, sending a clear message to essential workers that they do not matter. All workers deserve a fair pay rise in the current economic environment, and we're fighting to prevent the government from using the pandemic as an excuse to sell us all short.

Workers have carried Australia through this pandemic. Many essential workers are still at constant risk of community or workplace exposure to COVID. As we move into the next phase of the pandemic, all workers, including casuals, must have access to Paid Isolation Leave to reduce the risk of COVID spreading, take the steps needed to keep everyone safe and without losing any income. The requirements for workers to test, trace, isolate or quarantine are going to be with us for an extended period, and could increase for people working in frontline jobs if they experience more regular exposure at work. Workers will need Paid Isolation Leave to get us through this next phase of the pandemic rather than rely on depleted or non-existent leave balances. We need Paid Isolation Leave to protect our families and communities, and stop the spread of COVID-19. Paid Isolation Leave is critical to make sure workers or someone they care for can safely test, isolate or quarantine – and keep their families, communities and workmates safe.

Australia needs to be vaccinated as soon as possible. But we’re running last in the race to get it done. We won’t reach the required levels of COVID vaccination without more vaccine supplies and a faster roll out. We can’t rely on a system where workers have to get their jab on weekends or during lunch breaks. Monash University allows full-time workers to get vaccinated on work time. But it won’t pay casuals to do the same. No worker should have to choose between getting vaccinated and paying the bills. The latest plan from the Morrison government will see 2 million jabs per week being administered from September. We need paid leave to attend vaccination and recover from routine side effects. Last year workers in our Union campaigned for and won paid pandemic leave and one day a week carer’s leave for staff caring and home-schooling. This year, together, we can win paid vaccination leave. But we need to work together. We need a strong voice to demand nation-wide paid vaccination leave. We need it for the University, and we need it for our colleagues and students. Sign the petition for paid vaccination leave. Join your union.

In historically male-dominated occupations such as blue-collar trades, amenities for workers are often an afterthought or not provided at all. When they do exist, they are often very unhygienic, unsanitary, far away from the worksite, locked or in an unsafe location. The effects are worse for women who have a wider range of needs for bathroom amenities such as menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding and more. The laws that regulate bathrooms and amenities in workplaces MUST be updated to force companies and workplaces to follow the rules and provide good amenities for ALL workers. The more support we have in this campaign, the more likely we’ll be able to force positive change and make our workplaces safer and more inclusive for everyone.

Supermarket workers are risking the health of themselves and their families to keep warehouses running, shelves stocked and fuel pumps running. Coles and Woolworths should not pocket sky-high profits made off these essential workers' backs without recognising workers' sacrifices. In an email to Coles workers, the Chief Operations Officer, Matt Swindells, said "Finally, this week you will have heard that Coles is awarding a discretionary pay increase of 2.5% for all our wages-paid store team members. All team members covered by the 2017 Enterprise Agreement will receive the well-deserved increase from 6 September 2021 and you’ll see it in your payslips as of Wednesday 15 September." What is well-deserved is pandemic pay that is adequate (2.5% doesn't keep up with inflation which lies at 3.8%) and recognises the incredible sacrifice of working with the Delta variant spreading in the community.

Hospitality is one of the most insecure industries in the country. The vast majority of us don’t have access to paid sick leave and are among the lowest paid workers. We can’t afford to take time off work to get vaccinated. Everyone should be safe at work, but without vaccinations we aren’t safe. And without vaccination leave we can’t protect ourselves and others. Without vaccinations we will catch the virus from our customers and pass it onto our workmates, our families and to other patrons. The Morrison government must immediately introduce a minimum of two days of paid vaccination leave for hospitality workers who want to get vaccinated. If any worker has a reaction to the vaccine and needs more time off they should be able to get it.