ASU Members Campaigning to Win
As at: 5/02/24
The history of the Australian Services Union
reflects the ambitious nature of the union today.
Through the union, our members gained equal
pay for women in the community services sector, delivering the first ever
workplace agreement to provide domestic violence leave and protecting hard won
conditions and entitlements.
We stood by our members for almost a decade
after they were stood down after the collapse of ANSETT, and our members
received 96 cents in the dollar, when many thought that their entitlements had
been lost forever.
We were the first to organise white collar
workers known as clerks during the early years of Federation, the first to
organise today’s digital economy (then known as the computing industry) and
responsible for defining a recognised ‘industry’ in social and community
services which had previously not been recognised.
We continue to extend on the role the union
has played over more than a century, taking on issues others see as too hard,
or too ambitious. See what achievements we made in our last decade, as we look
forward to what we can achieve together in the decade to come.
Recent
history of the ASU
- 2010: Portable Long Service Leave Commences:
Portable Long Service Leave Commences in the ACT for Social and Community
Services workers. This historic achievement is used to successfully argue for
the same conditions in other states, with Victoria commencing their leave
programs in 2019 and Queensland in 2020.
- 2010: Australia-first, Domestic Violence
Leave: ASU reaches first agreement to gain victims of domestic violence 20 days
of paid leave. This Australia-first deal between the Surf Coast Shire Council
and the Australian Services Union, was the world's most progressive workplace
agreement on family violence at that time. Since then millions of workers
across many industries have been covered by similar agreements supported by
their unions, using the ASU template.
- 2010: Former Ansett staff final payment: The
ASU stood by former ANSETT staff after the airline collapsed in the early
2000’s. The tenacity of our union saw members receive 96 cents in the dollar of
their entitlements. In total, employees received $727.5 million. At the time of
the ANSETT collapse many thought they would not receive anything. The ASU will
always be by your side.
- 2010: Torres Strait Islanders gain ceremonial
leave: ASU advocacy through the Fair Work Commission changes modern awards to
include Torres Strait Islanders access to 10 days ceremonial leave - a clear
oversight that was acted upon by the ASU.
- 2012: Victory on Equal Pay: "Today is a
day in a generation – a day for all women to celebrate" said then ASU
Secretary Sally McManus. ASU members campaigned for Equal Pay. Many said it
couldn’t be achieved. The ASU and the Gillard Government reached agreement on
February 1, and the Fair Work Commission awarded a real wage increase of 23% –
45% over eight years. We love the work we do, and we deserved to be paid a fair
amount.
- 2014: Use Your Power: Between 2014 and 2017 we
stopped the proposed privatisation of Western Power in WA. Privatisation, first
pitched up in the 2014 State Budget, uniting ASU members, ETU members and the
community in their opposition. Western Power privatisation became a major
election issue for undecided voters, and the threat ended when the Barnett
Government lost office in 2017.
- 2017: Federal Government Abandoned Changes to
Paid Parental Leave: ASU members working together stared down the threat by the
Federal Government to remove the hard won Paid Parental Leave rights in over
420 ASU agreements. We are ambitious to see our members with good pay and leave
entitlements.