LABOR UNIONS – AUSTRALIA

Political polling company used by Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and GetUp! co-owned by CFMMEU and ACTU, investigation reveals

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Original article by Pat McGrath, Jeremy Story Carter, Sarah Curnow
abc.net au – Page: Online : 10-Apr-19

An ABC investigation has revealed that the ACTU and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union are co-owners of Melbourne-based public opinion polling firm uComms. A spokeswoman for the ACTU has rejected concerns about a conflict of interests, but the University of Sydney’s Professor Simon Jackman says polling firms should disclose any political connections in their ownership structure. Some clients uComms are believed to have expressed their intention to cease using the firm for polling in the wake of the revelations. Tomorrow ABIX will publish details of who owns each of the major market research and polling companies which survey in Australia.

CORPORATES
UCOMMS, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GETUP LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Minimum wage is living wage by UK standard

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Original article by David A Harvey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 5-Apr-19

The federal government has used its submission to the Fair Work Commission to argue that the minimum wage is now about 61 per cent of the median wage when the earnings of both full-time and part-time employees are taken into account. This is the benchmark used in the UK to determine that country’s living wage. In contrast, the ACTU wants a living wage to be based on the median earnings of full-time workers. The ACTU is seeking a six per cent increase in the minimum wage in 2018 and a further rise of 5.5 per cent in 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREAT BRITAIN. LOW PAY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Workers warned over approval to protest

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 5-Apr-19

ACTU secretary Sally McManus claims that nationwide rallies to be held on 10 April are political protests rather than industrial action. The ACTU hopes the anti-Coalition rallies will attract 250,000 workers. Meanwhile, the Australian Building & Construction Commission has warned that building industry workers risk fines if they take time off work to attend the rallies without written permission from their employer.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, ONESTEEL LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Move to block raids on worker funds

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 16 : 3-Apr-19

The federal government is hoping to persuade the Senate to pass legislation to prevent unions from taking profits from workers’ entitlement funds before parliament rises for the election. One such fund called Protect is currently at the centre of an industrial dispute between the Maritime Union of Australia and stevedoring firm DP World; the latter wants to end its participation in the fund as part of a new enterprise bargaining agreement. With Labor unlikely to support the legislation, Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer will try to lobby crossbenchers for their backing.

CORPORATES
PROTECT, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, DP WORLD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS’ ASSOCIATION

Union wants Labor to fix free rider problem

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 28-Mar-19

The National Tertiary Education Union’s industrial relations policy identifies several options for addressing the issue of workers who benefit from enterprise agreements without being a union member. They include requiring non-union members to pay a bargaining agents fee. The NTEU has lobbied Labor to put the issue of so-called "free riders" on its industrial relations agenda. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says bargaining fees are contrary to the right to freedom of association. Such fees have been banned in Australia since 2003.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Labor push on minimum wage will hurt those it’s meant to help

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Original article by Kurt Wallace
The Australian – Page: 14 : 22-Mar-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to raising the minimum wage to become a "living wage" if Labor wins the 2019 election. The ACTU has stated that a living wage is needed so that no full-time worker is living in poverty, but under its definition of what is poor, someone earning $42,000 a year would be deemed to be living in poverty; many would take issue at this definition. Research based on the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey suggests that poverty is on the decline, while introducing a living wage will result in less jobs and fewer hours worked.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

Shorten slaps down union super bosses

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Mar-19

The union movement continues to attract scrutiny for using industry superannuation funds to promote its industrial relations agenda. Labor leader Bill Shorten says the legal requirement of super fund trustees to act in the best interests of members overrides any other allegiances they may have. ACTU president Michele O’Neil recently urged super funds to use their influence as investors to ensure that companies offer secure and well-paid jobs. O’Neil is an alternate director on the board of AustralianSuper, which is partly owned by the ACTU.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, TWUSUPER, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, EQUIPSUPER PTY LTD, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Emissions target will cut wages, ACTU told

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Mar-19

Unions have criticised Energy Minister Angus Taylor after he warned them of the potential impact of Labor’s greenhouse gas policy on wages. Taylor has written to unions claiming that wages could be reduced by $9,000 under Labor’s proposed 45 per cent emissions reduction target. The Electrical Trades Union has accused Taylor of "rank political opportunism" in targeting its members shortly before a federal election. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says taxpayers’ funds should not be used to build new coal-fired power stations. He says this would result in less funding for infrastructure such as roads.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GETUP LIMITED, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Wharfies to strike over pay scheme

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Mar-19

DP World’s container terminal at Fremantle will be affected by work bans and rolling stoppages from 19 March. The indefinite industrial action is likely to be extended to DP World’s other container terminals in Australia in coming weeks unless the dispute is resolved. The Maritime Union of Australia has objected to DP World’s proposal to scrap an income protection scheme. The union is also seeking an annual pay rise of five per cent over three years, but DP World has offered a 2.6 per cent increase.

CORPORATES
DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Trump’s battlers enjoy rapid pay rises

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 15-Mar-19

Goldman Sachs estimates that growth in wages across the US economy is currently around 3.4 per cent, and 4.4 per cent in sectors with low wages. The investment bank’s research also shows that wages for workers in the bottom 50 per cent of the US wage distribution is rising by around four per cent a year, compared with about two per cent for those in the top half. The higher growth in low-income wages gained pace from mid-2018, in the wake of the Trump administration’s company tax cuts package. In contrast, the ACTU is advocating a large increase in the minimum wage to address the income gap.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD