AWU Vic News: Latest Stories

Portland Working Families Welcome Smelter Exclusion
STAND beneath the massive power lines that carry electricity to Portland's Alcoa aluminium smelter in far south-west Victoria and you can hear the energy crackling and sizzling in the air all around.

AWU Supports Proposed East-West Road and Rail Tunnels
The AWU Victorian Branch has strongly supported transport expert Sir Rod Eddington's proposals for road and rail connections linking Melbourne's West and East

EastLink Welcomed By Those Who Built It
Australian Workers’ Union members who built the $2.5 billion EastLink project are filled with a sense of pride as the nation’s biggest road project opens to the public.

AWU Pushes 5pc Rises
The following article about the AWU's push for 5pc pay rises for its members was published in The Australian Financial Review on Friday 27 June, 2008.

Qantas Cost Cuts Nothing To Do With Oil Price: Union
The following article about Qantas' decision to close its Mildura maintenance base was published on ABC Online on Tuesday 17 June, 2008.

Victorian Firefighter Lies Injured For Five Hours Before Rescued
A Department of Sustainability and Environment worker lay injured for five hours this past Monday before he was rescued, the Australian Workers’ Union said today.

'Devious' Steel Giant Ordered To Pay Compensation To Two Sacked Workers
The AWU Victorian Branch has scored a massive victory over steel giant Bluescope Steel, with the company ordered to pay substantial compensation to two brothers for their illegal termination.

AWU HRV Stewards Back To Work After Successful Conciliation Hearing
AWU HRV stewards will return to work tomorrow, satisfied with the outcome of an Industrial Relations conciliation hearing late today.

Geelong Harness Racing Meet Under Threat After Stewards Vote To Go On Strike
This article about the impact of a strike by AWU Harness Racing Stewards was written by journalist Dennis Craven in the Geelong Advertiser on Wednesday 9 April 2008.

Strike Action To Cost Victorian Harness Racing Industry Millions
Harness racing in Victoria is expected to come to a standstill indefinitely from tomorrow (Wednesday) when the state’s 13 official stewards take lawful strike action, the AWU said today.

Costly stipes' action riles Gath
This article about the industrial action being taken by AWU HRV stewards was written by Adam Hamilton and published in the Herald Sun newspaper on Monday 7 April 2008.

Strike Proves No Bluff
This article about the industrial action being taken by AWU HRV Stewards was written by journalist Adam Hamilton and was published in the Herald Sun newspaper on Saturday 5 April 2008.

New Transport Plan Crucial For Survival of Skilled Local Jobs
Victoria’s ability to provide sustainable, skilled jobs for working people would be threatened if the State Government did not act on recommendations to build two new tunnels under Melbourne, the Australian Workers’ Union said today.

Stipes' Strike To Disrupt Meetings
This article about the industrial action being taken by Victorian harness racing stewards was written by journalist Adam Hamilton in today's Herald Sun newspaper.

Harness Racing To Be Crippled When Stewards Take Industrial Action
Harness racing in Victoria will be severely disrupted from next Wednesday when stewards take industrial action, their union said today.

Pay Dispute Threatens To Halt Harness Racing: Stipes To Strike
The following article regarding planned industrial action by AWU Stewards was written by journalist Adam Hamilton in the Herald Sun newspaper on March 29, 2008.

Work Banned On Pipeline After Workers Exposed to Asbestos
The AWU has banned work on the laying of a pipeline in Victoria after more than one dozen construction workers were exposed to asbestos in recent weeks.

AWU Bluescope Western Port Survey
The AWU Victorian Branch is gearing up for the negotiation of your EBA, which is due for renewal by 1 November 2008.

AWU Calls For Thorough Investigation Into Workplace Death
The AWU expresses its deepest sympathies to the family of the man killed after being dragged into a street sweeper in Grantville near Phillip Island earlier today, AWU State Secretary Cesar Melhem said.

AWU angered by OneSteel slash and burn plant closures
The AWU has blasted OneSteel for refusing to invest in new technologies and using their merger with Smorgons Steel as an excuse to shutdown plants across Australia.