The Time to Care campaign, to improve laws supporting employees’ right to request flexible work to help them with their caring responsibilities, is in a critical stage.

Amendments to the Fair Work Act are currently being considered by federal parliament and so we need as many MPs as possible committing to support stronger laws.

In particular, the Independents will be critical to the success of the amendments.

Please write a letter to:
·         The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
·         The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten.
·         The Minister for the Status of Women, Julie Collins.

If you support the right of carers to seek flexible work, if you want to see employers seriously consider these requests including laws for a decent appeal for when employers refuse requests unreasonably, please send a letter to these Members of Parliament.

• The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
• The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten.
• The Minister for the Status of Women, Julie Collins.

In addition, go to the ACTU's Secure Jobs webpage for more facts, campaign articles and videos.

Time is ticking so thank you so much for your support!

Pay inequity, job insecurity and violence equals trifecta of discrimination for women
- From the Australian Council of Trade Unions

ACTU president Ged Kearney said it is time to call on employers to take an honest look at the impact of their practices on women.

“Women are experiencing a trifecta of discrimination that can greatly impact on their working life and financial future,” she said.

Ms Kearney pointed to systemic wage inequities, the cost of caring and violence as three areas where employers had the potential to be part of the solution rather than of part the problem. Read the full story here.


Recessions can hurt, but austerity kills
- The Guardian

In the US, more than five million people have lost access to health care. In Greece, there's a 200% increase in HIV cases. And in some of the worst-hit countries, suicide rates are up.

David Stuckler, author of an explosive new book, says the facts speak for themselves.

“The austerity programmes administered by western governments in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis were, of course, intended as a remedy – a tough but necessary course of treatment to relieve the symptoms of debts and deficits and to cure recession. But if, David Stuckler says, austerity had been run like a clinical trial, "It would have been discontinued. The evidence of its deadly side-effects – of the profound effects of economic choices on health – is overwhelming.". Read the full story here.


Given Tony Abbott’s alarmist rhetoric about a “budget emergency”, valid concerns are now being raised that if he wins the next Federal election, he may follow conservative governments in Britain, Spain and Greece down the same austerity path. We are entitled to be sceptical about talk of “audit commissions” and what motive may lie behind such proposals.

The MSAV Council and the AHP and VPA Committees have resolved that Union subs for the next financial year will increase by 3%, taking into account the increased costs of running the Union, and the average increases that have been negotiated for members in both the public sector agreement and in private sector agreements.

Staff salaries will increase in line with the public sector agreement outcome, with the first increase being in the order of 4.25%.