Centrelink services have already been run into the ground as the Turnbull Government has slashed more than 5,000 permanent jobs from the Department of Human Services. The number of unanswered call has climbed rapidly as the Government has continued cutting, with more than 42 million calls going unanswered just last financial year alone. This deal hatched by the Turnbull Government is an absolute disaster for Centrelink and the thousands of vulnerable Australians who rely on the agency. Serco is a tax-avoiding multinational parasite, plain and simple, that profits from downgrading public services and underpaying the people who provide them. Everything they touch sees services suffer. Centrelink clients need real help, such as that they are given by our members who have permanent jobs in the department and therefore the proper training and experience to actually resolve peoples’ problems. A private call centre that’s designed merely to make the department’s call waiting times look better isn’t going to genuinely help anyone. Serco’s arrival is also yet another attack by the Turnbull Government on hard-working DHS staff. They’ve been under an unrelenting attack through a four-year wage freeze and wholesale cuts, so this is adding insult to injury. It’s telling that the Defence Department is currently taking the reverse approach, bringing work back in-house because it offers higher quality work at a lower cost.

Retail and fast food workers perform a very important role for the community. Very often they live long distances from work across suburbs and have no choice but to drive to work. Traditionally in the majority of cases parking at work has been free for retail and fast food workers. Recently Southland has announced plans charge workers for parking. Southland workers could be forced to fork out up to $1300 a year extra. This is a cost retail and fast food workers cannot afford and do not deserve. There is also a health and safety risk if workers must park a long distance away at night. We call upon the Victorian Government to amend planning laws to require shopping centre owners to provide free and safe parking for retail and fast food workers at their centres. The SDA stands with workers against unfair parking charges.

Edith Creek workers and their families deserve to know whether they will have secure jobs for 2018 before Christmas. While Murray Goulburn is working through what its future looks like, workers at Edith Creek have already been told they are not part of that future. To give Edith Creek workers security and hope going forward it’s important that Murray Goulburn sell the factory site and equipment to a new owner committed to continuing dairy manufacturing and secure jobs in the region.

Dylan Voller suffered horrible torture in NT youth prisons from 11 years of age. Incredibly, he has come out of prison and played an inspiring role advocating for justice and positive alternatives for Aboriginal youth caught in the system. His family, particularly his mother Joanne, and sister Kirra, campaigned prominently for Dylan’s release and have played a continuing, prominent role in the campaign to close youth prisons that has taken place through the NT Royal Commission process. Through all of this, the family has been persecuted by the NT police. They are attacking what the Voller’s represent - resilience and power in the face of extreme state violence and a growing movement for change. On Friday September 29, NT police targeted both Joanne and Dylan for arrest at a peaceful demonstration calling to shut youth prisons and for justice for victims of Aboriginal deaths in custody. This was a provocation that led to further arrests, including of black youth simply participating in the rally. The protesters broke no laws and police were unable to lay criminal charges, instead they issued fines for “disorderly conduct”. This arrest of Dylan is being used by NT Corrections to argue that he has breached his suspended sentence conditions, just three days out from him finishing supervision. He must not be allowed to return to prison as a result of participation in a protest, a basic democratic right. Meanwhile, on three separate occasions over a two week period, large numbers of police have come to Joanne’s house, each time in response to a small fire being used to cook kangaroo tails in the backyard. Joanne has broken no law - this is blatant harassment and intimidation. We the undersigned stand with the Voller family. We call for an end to the persecution of the family by the NT Police and other authorities. We call for all fines resulting from the recent protest to be dropped and for NT Corrections to stop any further action against Dylan. We are extremely concerned that there has been no action taken by the NT government to bring the perpetrators of torture on Aboriginal youth in NT prisons to justice, or make any fundamental changes in the way the system is operating. We will stand with all families suffering as a result of this system and fight for Aboriginal self determination in youth justice issues - build communities not prisons! Supporters can contact the office of NT Justice Minister Natasha Kate Fyles on (08) 8999 6743.

The community relies on pharmacists, yet too often the respect, recognition and reward for this important work flow away from those who actually do it. We are committed to advocating on behalf of employee pharmacists so that they are heard by government and industry. The Fair Pay for Pharmacist case is an initiative by Professional Pharmacists Australia, the association and union for non-owner community pharmacists.

We are the nurses and carers who work in Bupa’s Victorian nursing homes. Bupa is a multi-national company, making multi-million dollar profits, with 26 nursing homes across Victoria. Bupa aged care nurses have made the difficult decision to take protected industrial action because we feel stretched and undervalued. Australian nursing homes are given funding for staff and wages. Yet, we find ourselves fighting for both. We’re asking Bupa for better staffing levels and skill mix (that’s the number of nurses and carers allocated to a number of residents each full shift) so we can improve resident care. We love caring for people who can no longer live at home. Many residents have multiple conditions, diseases and comorbidities and have very high complex nursing needs. Some need palliative care. Most require help with personal care needs. It’s intense, intimate and rewarding work. But it’s very hard to do our jobs well without enough staff. We’re also paid thousands of dollars less each year than our colleagues doing the same work. We’re asking for a wage increase that reflects the rising cost of living and that matches Bupa’s competitor nursing home groups such as Arcare, BlueCross, Royal Freemasons and AGSAG. Please sign our petition and tell Bupa to value, recognise and reward the people who care for elderly Victorians. Authorised Paul Gilbert, Acting Secretary, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch), October 2017.

Every single day, Territorians are experiencing delays due to inadequate resources and an understaffing crisis, which leaves injured and sick people waiting. A high-quality ambulance service needs high-quality paramedics, but with St John, there is not a positive work culture and many don't see a career pathway in the N.T. service. Training for paramedics, which allows them to do their jobs properly, as well as keep their skills in line with the rest of the country) is inadequate, so many of us leave to go elsewhere. In states where there is a public ambulance service, there is a huge difference in service delivery, patient care, and work culture. It's time to fix response times, instead of focusing on brand reputation. That's why paramedics are saying it's time for the service to be made public.

Hardworking people need time off now and then. The Grand Final Eve Public Holiday is a day to spend with family and friends and celebrate Victoria's love of football. For the last 3 years record numbers have attended the Grand Final parade, spent the weekend in regional areas or simply enjoyed quality time with family and friends. Melbourne is the sporting capital of the world and what better time to spend with loved ones than the day before the Grand Final of the national game. Victoria is not just an economy, we are also a society.

My name is Robert Byrne and I'm an employee at PPG paints. Every year my workmates and I make PPG paint a lot of money, which has made them very rich and successful. We have been breaking production records but now that we're bargaining for our new Agreement PPG has decided to use their success and money to try and take money and conditions from us. Instead of negotiating with us fairly, PPG have decided to lock us out. That’s why I’ve started this petition to show PPG that denying workers the right to work is unfair and in bad spirit. Stand with us and show your support by signing this petition now. I believe that every worker should be able to enjoy a fair work/life balance to spend quality time with their family - that’s all that we are asking for. This heartless action by PPG means my family is missing out on my essential income. PPG is a multi-million dollar company - they should be bargaining in good faith, not denying our families their bread at the table. Together, we can send a powerful message to PPG: Stop the bully- boy tactics, look us in the eye and negotiate – that’s what any reasonable employer would do. Sign our petition to show your support!

Council-run home care enables those in need to live independently at home for as long possible. Being able to retain a sense of independence is so important for mental and emotional health. Our ageing relatives, friends and neighbours deserve to retain the quality care they get from our highly trained Council workers.

The people of the Hinkler region ( Hervey Bay-Bundaberg) are feeling threatened , scared and worried for their financial futures and inclusion in our communities. Our population of people on legal eligible centrelink payments across the board, from youth allowance, newstart, dsp, carers etc should not be feeling like they are being excluded from our society and fear losing their sense of self. The insults that we cannot manage our funds, that we are all drunks, druggies and pedos are unjust and not true. People cannot be held responsible for gov't failures to create sufficient jobs and training for people who are isolated and are limited in their prospects. People with addictions need the funding put back into the services that have been removed and treated under the health system, not pushed onto a fantasy card that is being touted as the cure all for all of social ills, at the same time the mantra being pushed that only people on centrelink suffer those ills! Common sense is to provide help to those who need it, and not allow the privatisation of our Social Security sector to a private corp, ready to make big $$ off of the backs of our battlers. The added costs to the tax payer per person per year could be better spent in inclusive public service funding, not a punitive, segregating punishing, dehumanising boot being put down on people who have committed no crime. Australian citizens deserve to feel safe from their own gov't The current gov't is attempting to split our citizens into segments who are judged by their circumstance as to what level their citizenship counts for them. People on Centrelink payments are not "lessor" people just because they receive their rightful payments. Workers who cannot access enough hours are not lessor citizens, and current workers should not be placed in situations where they accept lessor protections at work, in order to stay employed in fear of , if they lose their jobs they will be on the card ! This card threatens our small business, markets and public events . Tourism cannot support these regions alone and the "cash flow" that circulates through our regions economies keeps people going, it keeps our centrelink recipients from becoming destitute, as they have access to secondhand items, cars, and are able to pay their cash rents. We have a large amount of older workers doing their mutual obligations, free labour hours to receive their payments, our younger out of work workers are also doing their work for the dole, part time work and studies, The cashless welfare debit card will completely destroy people on so many levels and we don't have the mental health services to cope with the loss of self and autonomy. This is not how any gov't should be treating any of it's citizens. The card does not care what colour your skin is, your religion, or your circumstance, it is about profits for private business. Indue Terms and Conditions show no mention of any persons health, mental health or general well being, it only has terms and conditions that remove peoples' right to privacy, contract and consent laws, it is about control. If the gov't was serious about helping people overall, they would lift the amounts of centrelink payments to make sure people can keep up with the modern costs of living and provide the health services that all of our community should have access too. The moral of the people is important to how a country works, removing the worth of so many and then the media and the gov't backing of the media "welfare bashing" is causing a great deal of distress across the country as whole. We in the Hinkler region want JOBS not CARD ! Training and PAID work for able bodied people, for older out of work workers and DSP need to be treated with respect too, Dignity NOT Poverty. The card will segregate people and cause more than just financial difficulties for recipients . Stop the Card!

It is the worse time in Australia's post-war history to be unemployed, yet the government and the media continue to blame the unemployed. It is clear that the problem is the system (of which mainstream media is a part) which is upheld by the politicians. The focus needs to be on them, not the unemployed. Politicians and media need to be held to account. Where are the jobs? What are the government doing about the Newstart rate which is $380 per fortnight below the poverty line? What are the politicians doing about the disaster of work for the dole, cashless welfare, job search agencies, drug testing and so on. They profit, while the unemployed suffer. Sign this petition and demand the unemployed are given a voice!