Asbestos is one of the most hazardous materials present in buildings throughout Australia. It lurks in many materials that electricians work with and can be found in over 3000 products. Are you confident you know how to deal with asbestos?

More than 70 ETU members at the Williamstown Railyard, together with their colleagues from other unions on site have struck a blow against casualisation, reaching an in-principle agreement that brings a long-running dispute to an end.

Since August last year, workers at Western Power in WA have been negotiating a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) to improve staffing on regional depots and receive fair compensation for working in extreme weather conditions and working through their unpaid lunch breaks.

The resilience of Australia’s electricity infrastructure is being undermined by a chronic pattern of underinvestment in maintenance and upkeep, the result of rent-seeking by private electricity producers and a deeply flawed regulatory system.

ETU organisers regularly hear stories about apprentices being underpaid, ripped off and exploited. As an industry, and as a union, we need to work together to ensure that apprentices are protected and being paid what they’re owed.

Unions fought back this month against a dodgy labour hire agreement, winning an appeal to stop it at the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

Funding for apprentices and young people in the recently announced federal budget falls short of Australia’s needs, and leaves public institutions like TAFE out in the cold.