By Ros McLennan, General Secretary, Queensland Council of Unions International Workers’ Memorial Day (Sunday 28 April 2019) is a time to remember workers who have died, become ill or injured because of work and a chance to renew focus on ...
Read More

Neil Rogers is a long-time Change the Rules activist in Forde - a federal seat based to the south of Brisbane including locations like Beenleigh, Eagleby and parts of Logan. Retired now, Neil splits his time volunteering for a wide ...
Read More

Queensland Unions have backed an in-principle recommendation to jail dodgy employers who deliberately or recklessly underpay workers. The recommendation was one of 17 contained in the State Government’s response to a Parliamentary committee inquiry into wage theft released today. Queensland ...
Read More

A rally by Queensland unions was held at midday outside the Queensland Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane in support of United Voice workers fighting against wage theft.
Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said the stand taken ...
Read More

Queensland Unions say the Morrison government cannot be trusted to change industrial relations to the benefit of workers. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan joined condemnation of the plan being floated today by federal Jobs and Industrial Relations ...
Read More

Tens of thousands of workers turned out today in Brisbane in a show of community support to change the rules to address growing inequality in Australia. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said Queensland workers were concerned that ...
Read More

Queensland Unions have welcomed today’s Parliamentary inquiry report which recommends criminalising wage theft and changing laws to make it easier for workers to reclaim stolen wages. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said the scourge of wage theft ...
Read More

The peak body for working people has launched a month-long advertising campaign calling on Queenslanders to join national action for change. Television and radio ads started yesterday in Queensland electorates, with regional rallies in October culminating in a major Brisbane ...
Read More

"In a fragmented industry largely unencumbered by regulators or unions, there appears to be little fear of being caught out doing the wrong thing." ...
Read More

Unions ACT have launched a report on the experiences of young women in the workplace, which finds young women were more likely than their male counterparts to be casual or underpaid at work. More than 200 young people were surveyed, ...
Read More

Criminalising wage theft and creating an industrial division of the Magistrates Court are two of several measures recommended in the QCU’s submission to the Queensland Parliament’s inquiry into wage theft. Public hearings for the Inquiry begin today and the Queensland ...
Read More

Queensland Unions say today’s byelection win to Labor’s Susan Lamb in Longman shows the LNP has lost the referendum on which priorities are important to Australians. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said Longman voters showed they wanted ...
Read More

Unions will continue their focus on funding for schools and hospitals not billions for big business and the banks as the Longman by-election enters its final days. Workers and their families have been a central part of the combined union ...
Read More

The Queensland Council of Unions has today launched an education, support and campaigning organisation for young workers. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said it was important to connect young people who may be having similar experiences at ...
Read More

Unions have welcomed the announcement that if elected a Shorten Labor Government would introduce legislation to regulate labour hire. “For too long we have seen the business model being used where labour hire forces down labour costs at the workers’ ...
Read More

Workers and unions have another weapon in the battle against underpayment and exploitation from tomorrow (15 June) when labour hire provider licences become mandatory in Queensland. From 15 June 2018, all labour hire providers in Queensland must be licensed or ...
Read More

Queensland Unions have welcomed the 2018-19 State Budget for its continued focus on frontline services but say any public infrastructure funding must provide long-term benefits for regional communities. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan applauded record spending on ...
Read More

Today’s announcement of a 3.5 per cent increase or $24.32 per week to the minimum wage will still leave some full-time workers struggling to put food on the table. A major goal of the union movement’s Change the Rules campaign ...
Read More

Queensland Unions expect the recently announced parliamentary wage theft inquiry will be swamped by underpaid and ripped-off workers. State Parliament last night passed a motion for an inquiry into wage theft, with all LNP members voting against. It will report ...
Read More

Chants of “Change the Rules” echoed throughout Queensland over the Labour Day weekend as union and community members joined hundreds of thousands of other Australians in a national campaign for better wages, secure jobs, enforceable workplace rights and making sure ...
Read More

Why march on Labour Day? What is the point? Why take to the streets with thousands of other Queenslanders and demand to change the rules? It’s about returning the “fair go” to Australia. Profits for big business are going up and ...
Read More

Unions will use Workers’ Memorial Day to renew calls to scrap the Australian Building and Construction Commission and replace it with national legislation based on Queensland’s health and safety laws. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said workplace ...
Read More

This opinion piece appeared in the Brisbane Times on Thursday, 26 April under the heading "Too many workers are killed on the job in Australia" ... By Ros McLennan, General Secretary, Queensland Council of Unions A fundamental right we all ...
Read More

Queensland unions will use the state’s Labour Day celebrations to push ahead with a national campaign to change the rules and give working Australians more secure jobs and fair pay rises. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said ...
Read More

Changing the rules around work for women continues to be a major focus for Queensland unions. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan says International Women’s Day today (8 March) is an opportunity to highlight how the work-life collision ...
Read More

This article has been published on the New Daily website - you can view it here: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/02/20/eureka-flag-ban/ --- It’s a poor return on investment when the brightest idea your well-paid construction watchdog executives can produce to improve workplace safety is a ...
Read More

Queensland Unions have questioned the economic credentials of new LNP leader Deb Frecklington after her recent comments about jobless rates during the Bjelke-Petersen government years. Queensland Council of Unions Assistant General Secretary Michael Clifford said Frecklington falls for the same ...
Read More

Queenslanders have shown their support for a government that has created jobs, restored frontline services and retained public assets over an unstable and chaotic LNP/One Nation Coalition government with a cut, sack and sell agenda, says Queensland Council of Unions ...
Read More

Queensland Unions’ field campaign is in full swing, in the final sprint to the state election on 25 November. Dedicated target seat coordinators are on the ground, working with a strong network of union members and community supporters, as the ...
Read More

Unions say this state election is a choice between a government creating jobs, restoring frontline services and business confidence without selling off public assets - or a recycled LNP leader with an agenda to cut, sack and sell. Queensland Council ...
Read More

Queensland unions say investment in renewables should occur but must also guarantee good, secure jobs if it is to provide long-lasting benefits to the state. Queensland Council of Unions Assistant General Secretary Michael Clifford today told a major summit that ...
Read More

Queensland unions say the new offence of industrial manslaughter passed today through Parliament will be a deterrent to make sure that companies don’t cut corners and put profits ahead of people. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said ...
Read More

Hundreds of thousands of Queensland workers are fearful they’re next for a wage cut after today’s Federal Court decision not to overturn the Fair Work Commission’s to cut weekend and public holiday penalty rates. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary ...
Read More

Tim Nicholls and the LNP’s attempt to match Labor’s Buy Queensland policy will replay the disastrous unemployment scoreboard from the days of the Campbell Newman government. Queensland Council of Unions Assistant Secretary Michael Clifford said the Nicholls’ gameplan to give ...
Read More

Queensland is now the first Australian state with mandatory licensing for labour hire operators after union-backed laws passed State Parliament today. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said regulating the labour hire industry was necessary to stamp out ...
Read More

Queensland unions say the federal Turnbull LNP government’s latest attack on asylum seekers is a desperate tactic to distract from its self-inflicted wounds. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said the union movement stood against the Turnbull government ...
Read More

Queensland Unions are joining an Australia-wide campaign to improve the lives of employees juggling work with caring and parenting responsibilities. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) today released survey results showing 85 per cent of working Australians also have ...
Read More

Queensland unions have welcomed the state government’s move to create the new offence of industrial manslaughter to deter negligent employers who operate unsafe workplaces. The new offence is one of 58 recommendations from a wide-ranging review into workplace deaths, to ...
Read More

Queensland Unions are urging members to check their enrolment and to vote ‘yes’ in the upcoming marriage equality postal survey. Rolls close on 24 August and unions want to make sure that all those who want to have their say ...
Read More

Queensland unions will fight on the battleground of secure jobs after statewide workers’ forums endorsed this election campaign focus at a final Congress meeting in Brisbane today. Union members, delegates and leaders identified job creation and insecure employment in regional ...
Read More

Queensland unions have slammed rail operator Aurizon for abandoning regional Queensland workers after its announcement of 300 job losses at facilities throughout central and northern Queensland ...
Read More

Queensland unions have welcomed a state government proposal to introduce an offence of “negligence causing death” as part of a wide-ranging review into workplace deaths. See the government statement here. QCU General Secretary Ros McLennan said it would act as ...
Read More

Queensland unions have welcomed a state government proposal to introduce an offence of “negligence causing death” as part of a wide-ranging review into workplace deaths ...
Read More

Workers in regional Queensland will lose almost $150 million a year in disposable income a year due the Turnbull Government’s decision to support cutting penalty rates – according to new analysis by the McKell Institute released today ...
Read More

Queensland unions have welcomed the announcement on Labour Day of state government plans to license labour hire firms. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan says regulating the labour hire industry is necessary to stamp out those rogue operators ...
Read More

Thousands of workers and community members turned out at today’s national rally against the federal Coalition’s continuing attacks on workers. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said there was widespread anger over cuts to penalty rates and increasing ...
Read More

Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Ros McLennan said the FWC decision was a "game changer" for industrial relations in Australia. "The independent umpire makes decisions based on the rules they are given," she said. "These rules are contained in ...
Read More

The Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) decision to radically cut Sunday and public holiday pay will hurt more than 400,000 Queensland workers ...
Read More

The only thing voters learnt from Tim Nicholls’ apology today is that his sales pitch to sell public assets will be slicker, especially in regional Queensland, if he’s given another chance in government. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros ...
Read More

The LNP’s backdoor deal today with Senate crossbenchers on a national building code will reduce safety, increase casual and insecure employment and mean fewer Queensland workers on local construction sites. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan said the ...
Read More

Queensland Unions have welcomed the Labor Party’s firm commitment to protecting the wages of millions of workers who sacrifice their weekends for the benefit of our economy. Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Ros McLennan today said employer groups have ...
Read More

One hundred years after her death in Toowoomba, labour legend Emma Miller and her hat-pin are still making news in the Garden City. On Friday 20 January local union members will join with other prominent state and national labour movement ...
Read More

Andrew Laming, the federal member for Bowman, was very quick to retreat after he posted this clanger on his Facebook page: Are teachers back at work this week, or are they 'lesson planning' from home? Let me know exactly. Following ...
Read More

A promise to protect current penalty rates would be the most useful guarantee the Turnbull LNP government could give to Australian workers this Christmas ...
Read More

Western Australia's Murdoch University has applied to the Fair Work Commission to terminate the Enterprise Agreement with its staff so that it has the ability to return its workers to Award minimums in an unprecedented move more like the actions ...
Read More

Unions today used a roundtable event to renew calls to expand minimum domestic violence leave provisions as Australia approaches the season when violent incidents increase. Today’s event wraps up 16 days of focused workplace activities to address the community scourge ...
Read More

Queensland union members can feel proud of their role in supporting justice and fairness for the reinstated #CUB55 brewery workers, today invited back to work after 180 days off the job ...
Read More

Hundreds of workers from Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane - and their supporters – stage a rally in the centre of Brisbane today to demand respect for their work and the end to the squeeze on their wages, time and work/life ...
Read More

Queensland’s workers and union members have been instrumental in the new laws passed overnight cleaning up the industrial relations chaos left by the Newman LNP government ...
Read More

A government that prefers to use and abuse an itinerant workforce of temporary work visa holders rather than create conditions for sustainable, decent, well-paying jobs for workers in regional Australia ...
Read More

Australians remain sceptical about federal government motivations to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission despite the Coalition’s almost daily calls in Parliament and the media ...
Read More

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (the ABCC) was a watchdog over the construction industry set up by the Howard government in 2005. It monitored the sector and enforced civil workplace laws such as restrictions on unlawful industrial action and ...
Read More

The systemic, endemic and rife exploitation of foreign workers in Australia is continuing unabated, despite combined efforts by journalists and unions to shine a light on the nefarious practices of some businesses and labour-hire companies ...
Read More

Queensland unions congratulate and highlight a major Queensland company’s efforts in a national campaign to enshrine minimum family and domestic leave entitlements into national employment standards ...
Read More

Caltex members, who had taken indefinite industrial action at the company’s lubricants facility in Lytton, Queensland, have won a deal that will see changes to their salary including a reduction in hours worked, annual wage increases and increased penalties ...
Read More

The federal Coalition can expect a major community campaign for putting tax cuts for millionaires and corporations ahead of paid parental leave for young families, Queensland unions say ...
Read More

Queensland unions want the State Government to follow South Australia’s lead and introduce licensing of labour hire firms ...
Read More

Concerns over a concerted corporate strategy to erode workers’ wages and conditions sparked yesterday’s thousand-strong community march to Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) headquarters in Fortitude Valley ...
Read More

Early childhood educators are some of the lowest paid professionals in Australia. Why? Because 95% of us are women. So with Equal Pay Day just around the corner, we recorded the above message, calling on Malcolm Turnbull to fix this by ...
Read More

Malcolm Turnbull’s silence on Productivity Commission recommendations to cut penalty rates and introduce enterprise contracts will drive more Queenslanders to put the LNP last in tomorrow’s federal election. Queensland unions say the federal Coalition – despite calling the election on ...
Read More

The Abbott/Turnbull Government has ripped funding out of apprenticeship programs, skills training and TAFE – more than $1 billion from apprenticeships alone since taking office. The resulting catastrophic drop in the number of apprentices learning their trade stands as a ...
Read More