Message from the National Secretary: Spring 2025

Recently, our AWU leadership team began a new four-year term, welcoming several new faces to our team and farewelling long-serving officials at our winter National Executive.

I’d like to thank outgoing South Australian Branch Secretary Peter Lamps, who after forty-four years with the AWU as a delegate, organiser, official and branch secretary is enjoying a very well-earned retirement. Peter has been a passionate advocate for workers, particularly in the steelworks and shipyards of South Australia, and his energy will be missed.

With Peter’s retirement, Assistant Branch Secretary Gary Henderson has stepped up as Branch Secretary and has been working hard for members already in manufacturing and local councils. Welcome, Gary!

We also welcome National Vice-Presidents Cleofe Vinas-Wilson, Zach Duncalfe, Mark Fagan, and Queensland South-Western District Secretary Joey Kaiser to our National Executive. All four have demonstrated experience leading major industrial campaigns in our union, and I am looking forward to seeing what we will all achieve together in the next four years and beyond.

With our 140th anniversary approaching, our resolve to grow, strengthen and modernise our union has never been stronger. We need to be ready to face the challenges of the future.

But no matter what happens in the years to come, one thing will never change – your wages, conditions, job security and safety will always remain our highest priority.

As you’ll read in our Spring issue, we’ve had some important wins for members in recent months, with strong wage increases, ongoing industrial action, and campaigns across some of our largest worksites. We’ve also secured vital state and federal government funding to secure key manufacturing facilities on the brink of closure, and to invest in new energy technologies that could support thousands of jobs in decades to come.

But the underlying issue remains and will only get worse; without an affordable, reliable supply of energy, our manufacturing sector remains at risk.

This winter, we’ve relaunched our Reserve Our Gas campaign, calling on the Federal Labor Government to introduce an East Coast reservation to save our manufacturing sector, help households with the rising cost of living, and help secure our net zero future.

You can read our detailed submission and join the campaign at reserveourgas.com.au.

Enjoy the Worker, and I’ll see you at work soon!