Working Students Union Network campaign for Your Rights At Work

In 2006, the Working Students Union Network (WSUN) is bringing the Your Rights at Work campaign to University campuses and TAFE Colleges. WSUN activists are informing students of the impact the Federal Government’s new workplace laws will have on students.

Last year, the Federal Government announced work place changes which seek to drive wages and working conditions down. As a response, the union movement has united and formed the Your Rights At Work campaign. The campaign is aimed at informing people of the new changes to workplace laws, and the effect they will have on family life and society. The union movement has the support of a wide range of community groups, churches and sporting clubs. The result has been a successful campaign which has the union movement engaging with the community, which is where unionism belongs.

However, despite the highly publicised campaign, a report in The Sydney Morning Herald suggested that of all people, those aged 26 and under were most likely to support the Federal Government's workplace changes (WorkChoices). This is an alarming statistic, because it is young people that are likely to feel the immediate impact of these changes. This is because:

· Workplaces will now not have to pay penalty rates for weekend and night work.
· There will be a lower minimum wage set by Government appointees.
· There is no unfair dismissal protection for people working in a company with less than 100 employees.
· You now have to take a case of sexual, religious or racist discrimination to the Federal Supreme Court (costing you between $10 000 and $30 000).
· You will have to work longer hours for the same, or even lower rate of pay.

In 2006, the Your Rights at Work campaign is stepping up on campus and TAFE colleges, with the aim to inform students of their rights, and to explain the effects of WorkChoices. Students will be given the opportunity to join the rest of the majority of Australians who are against these changes, and send a clear message to the Federal Government that we will not tolerate this attack on our working rights.

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