Media releases

Politicians and commentators should be measured and responsible in discussing the proposed reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Building Code, said UnionsACT secretary Alex White today. It is very important for commentators and politicians to avoid misrepresenting what the Building Code and ABCC are and their scope. Uncritically repeating the partisan, politically …

Commentators and politicians should be responsible in debating proposed ABCC bill Read More »

The ACT Government must ensure that measures are introduced to prevent the serious and systematic workplace exploitation of local and international students. Both domestic and international students who take on part-time work face serious underpayments in the hospitality, retail and contract cleaning industries. Exploitation can include underpayments, no access to workers’ compensation, non-payment of superannuation, …

Government must act to prevent exploitation of student workers Read More »

The first credibility test for the new Education Minister will be to address the serious and systematic exploitation of school cleaners in ACT schools. School cleaners, many who are refugees and from non-English speaking backgrounds, have experienced serious exploitation, wage theft and safety issues. Unions first brought these matters to former Minister Burch’s attention in …

Key test of credibility for next Education Minister Read More »

The ABC 7.30 investigation into serious and widespread exploitation of international students by a major cleaning company highlights the need for the ACT Government and local universities to ensure international students’ rights are protected. International students, whose strict visa conditions makes them vulnerable to unscrupulous companies, make up 60 percent of the CBD cleaning workforce …

ABC Investigation highlights university and ACT Government duty of care to international students Read More »