ACTU secretary Sally McManus has today mounted a spirited defence of solidarity among union members, saying that calling a strikebreaker a "scab" is "an accurate description", while the peak body's new president said she experienced the power of unions when as 14-year-old waitress, members helped her fight back against sexual harassment by a supervisor.
Unions will next week consider pushing for stronger remedies for unfair dismissal by adopting measures such as removing the $73,000 compensation limit, enabling employees to pursue more than their lost income and empowering them to seek penalties against employers.
Union calls for a return to industry-wide bargaining to boost workers' earnings have won the backing of the OECD, which says in its annual global employment report that negotiations across industry sectors can lead to "lower wage inequality".
With the Senate set as early as today to pass the Turnbull Government's income tax changes that include substantial reductions for high-income earners, the ACTU has today released a critique of the proposals to cut corporate and personal income tax that it says will further increase inequality.
United Voice secretary Jo Schofield has made it clear that the union won't accept "baby steps" in moving to a universal industry bargaining system if Labor wins the next election, saying a misplaced trust in enterprise bargaining has been damaging for its members.
The ACTU will today release a jobs policy that calls for an end to public sector wage caps and pay freezes, along with calling time on the use of "illegitimate" fixed-term contracts in government jobs.
Victorian unions will push the Andrews Labor Government to make deliberate and dishonest "wage theft" a criminal offence if it wins the state election in November, while they will also be pursuing industrial manslaughter laws.
The ACTU's policy pitch for the next election will include the right for casual workers to convert to permanent after six months, equal rights for workers in the gig economy and a overhaul of labour hire regulation.
The ACTU is seeking to hire a fundraising and bequests program coordinator as part of a strategy to diversify its funding base, which largely relies on fees and levies paid by affiliated unions.
