If these services are outsourced, the Sutherland Shire community will lose out. These quality early education places will be lost, and families will suffer dramatic increases to fees and their cost of living. The hard-working early childhood educators will also lose their secure Council jobs and conditions. These Council-run services also set the standard against greedy for-profit childcare centres, what will happen without them? The General Manager and Councillors have refused to come clean and let Shire residents know what they are doing. What is Council secretly planning? The USU says these council services must not be lost to the community. As signatories we say: DON'T SELL OFF OUR PUBLIC CHILDCARE CENTRES!

Postal workers carried our communities through the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic along with all of our essential workers. Working harder than ever to cope with the endless stream of care packages, online shopping and letters to loved ones in lockdown. Posties are burning out from the increased workload. Being a postie used to be a job you could rely on - but now many are stressed and overworked and are feeling pressured to risk their own safety on our roads to complete their rounds within time constraints. 10 years ago no one wanted to leave, now many do not want to stay! Posties say they are skipping their breaks and are forced to go faster to meet their increased work loads and long hours in an already dangerous job. As more and more posties burn out - and fewer are being recruited (the above proposal would see current vacancies not filled) - posties are facing a workload crisis that Australia Post refuses to acknowledge.

DEVONSHIRE STREET IS THE ONLY COUNCIL-RUN CHILDCARE IN WILLOUGHBY COUNCIL. DON’T SELL IT OFF!

We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Big businesses are making record profits while wages continue to flat-line. Everyday essentials like groceries, petrol, and bills are going up but our wages are not. Every worker should be able to rely on their job to provide wages that will keep up with the cost of living and allow them to save for the future. This year the Australian Services Union is campaigning for a wage increase that keeps up with the cost of living. The Annual Wage Review is the ONLY guaranteed wage increase in the economy. Your pay rise only comes about from union members getting together to win what we need and deserve. The Australian Services Union is your voice for a pay rise. Without a real pay rise delivered now, wages will continue to go backwards. Sign the petition for a 7% pay rise now!

Staff working conditions are student learning conditions. When staff go on strike to get a better deal, they also strike to improve the learning conditions for students. Students should stand in solidarity with staff, and join them in calling on University management for a better deal.

Caleb’s story is a classic case of a client and employer using the labour-hire relationship to trash a worker’s rights. Caleb has now filed an unfair dismissal application in the Fair Work Commission and is being assisted by his union.

The cost of living crisis is far from over. Wage growth is less than half the rate of inflation and prices for essential items continue to soar. And the RBA’s approach to fixing inflation has almost pushed Australian workers and the economy off a cliff. The RBA delivered 10 consecutive interest rate rises in a row, to 3.6% as of March 2023. That means that a worker with a $500,000 mortgage has to find an extra $1,100 per month to cover their repayments. And it's not just homeowners that are having to cough up – people who are renting are feeling the flow-on effect in the form of staggering rent increases and widespread housing availability shortages. Meanwhile, big business profits are going through the roof, and in some cases, outstripping even pre-pandemic levels. This greed-price spiral is what's really driving inflation. Between the RBA and big companies, average Australians are bearing all the pain of a situation they did not cause and have little control over. The RBA has already warned us to brace for more interest rate rises. But we say: Enough. Stop hurting workers.

On 1 June 2023, thousands of young workers’ HECS, HELP and VET student debts will increase by up to $4,000 as we face the biggest hike in decades. This is unfair. Young workers have the highest rates of student debt and the lowest incomes. We need as much money as possible to counter the cost-of-living crisis, buy a home or start a family. We don't have a deep pool of wealth or investment properties to draw on and we’re already losing a huge chunk of our income in student loan repayments. With the budget around the corner, now is the time to put pressure on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to make things fairer for young workers. Long-term, if we want young workers to be able to pay off student debts fairly, we need to index them to wage growth, not inflation. This is a conversation we should be having. But right now, Treasurer Jim Chalmers can stop the squeeze by freezing student debt repayments until the cost of living crisis is over.

Working people are absorbing price increases on everything they buy and spending more of their wages on bills. Meanwhile, company gross operating profits rose 10.6% seasonally adjusted for Dec 2022. The Reserve Bank continues to increase interest rates to tackle inflation, but excess corporate profits account for 69% of additional inflation beyond the RBA’s target. Rising unit labour costs account for just 18% of that inflation. It's time that struggling Australians got their fair share of these massive corporate profits. Pay UP!

The waterways in and around Sydney, as well as the water we drink, are kept safe, clean and affordable by Sydney Water, which operates for the public. Making our harbour, coastline and drinking water a source of profit puts this at risk. If Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals privatise Sydney Water: • Water rates will go up by $264 a year; • Thousands of jobs will be lost; • Our pristine beaches and waterways are at risk. Don’t risk our water. Add your name to send a clear message to the NSW Premier – hands off Sydney Water!

“I have a neurodiverse child with multiple diagnoses. He’s been on a waiting list since before Kindy. We’ve only just been able to start seeing a specialist – but not in Tasmania. We’re seeing a private specialist interstate, via Zoom. We desperately need more Allied Health Professionals to support kids who are doing it tough.” – Thirza, Parent, Secretary (CPSU Tasmania) Allied Health professionals in schools are essential to give kids with learning and developmental disabilities the best start in life. Getting access to quality care early in life gives kids the best chance to adjust, succeed and flourish. An estimated 1 in 20 Australian children struggles with an anxiety disorder¹; 15-20% of Australians has a language-based learning disability². Early years are our first and best chance to give kids dignity and support to succeed. Tasmania also has the third highest rate of children and young people in Out-of-Home Care. Only a fraction of those we miss will ever seek help later in life. They go on struggling, in silence. Getting access to a Social Worker, Speechie or Psychologist early on can make all the difference in the world. “1 in 8 Australian primary school students has a communication disorder of some kind. We have 31 speech pathologists to service every public primary school and support school in the state. That makes our ratio 116 to 1, at best. We’re not talking about a little bit of understaffing - we’re talking about chronic, long-term vacancies.” - Sarah, Advanced Skills Speech & Language Pathologist, Tasmania Please sign our petition to call on Premier Rockliff to ensure Allied Health Professionals in schools, child safety and youth justice aren’t left behind. ¹ https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/children-with-mental-illness ² https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/frequently-asked-questions-2/

Improved wages and conditions for UWA staff will help build a flourishing University delivering better outcomes for students, the sector and the wider local, state and national communities.