If you want proof of the positive impact of the Government's new Forward with Fairness legislation, look no further than the boardrooms of corporate Australia.
Even before the new laws kick in on July 1, previously hard-line employers such as Telstra and ANZ are turning their backs on a decade of aggressive opposition to collective agreements and unions, and are preparing to negotiate new collective deals with unions.
In the public sector, agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Finance are returning to union agreements after many years of favouring non-union agreements and individual contracts.
And on a workplace level, we are experiencing a modest but pleasing increase in the number of people joining our union and becoming workplace delegates. It's a trend we plan to build on.
The new Forward with Fairness legislation restores your essential right to choose collective bargaining and union representation. The legislation also introduces a new safety net and unfair dismissal protections. Importantly, the new laws mean that when our children enter the workforce, they'll have better choices than the unfair, take-it-or-leave-it AWAs that typified WorkChoices.
Forward with Fairness is the direct result of the Your Rights at Work campaign. Three years ago CPSU members were asked to dig a little deeper via a levy to help us win fairer workplace laws for all Australians. Thanks to this active support important workplace rights and entitlements have been protected. The levy ceased on July 1.
The Your Rights at Work campaign proved two important things. We are most powerful when we are united, so powerful that we can change laws and governments. It also taught us that to succeed, a campaign must be well planned, well implemented and well funded.
But let's not rest on our laurels. Over the past year, many of you have helped develop the CPSU's Agenda for Change, our comprehensive plan to tackle some of the big issues that shape our workplace.
Building on the strengths we found through the Your Rights at Work campaign we need to continue the fight for:
decent funding for essential services
a service-wide agreement to close the pay gap between agencies
