Australian workers' right to be paid a decent wage for working unsociable hours has been reinforced with the Fair Work Commission today comprehensively rejecting an employer push to scrap penalty rates. 
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 At the annual ACTU National Union Awards,  Peter Tighe was awarded Occupational Health and Safety Campaigner of the year. 
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The Government has announced some long overdue improvements to the 457 visa program. Full details are not yet finalised but changes reflect issues unions have been identifying for a number of years, and more recently, in the collective involvement on the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration of which the CEPU, ACTU, CFMEU, and AMWU are on the Council. 
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The Newman Government in Queensland has made massive cuts to public sector jobs and services.  These cuts include slashing the jobs of nurses, doctors and other health services.  If this continues it is feared the Northern Territory government may also follow suit. Read the ACTU media release here which goes into more detail and voices fears that Tony Abbott’s Liberals will seek another $50-70 billion cost cuts if they win the next election.  
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The ACTU has conducted a poll on what Australians want the government to do about the continuing presence of asbestos in homes and schools. Two-thirds of the respondents to the poll believe the Government should aim to remove all asbestos from homes and schools by 2030.  
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