It is workers who carry Australia through COVID-19

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called on workers to be supported during and after the pandemic. This means that the current JobKeeper and JobSeeker rates must not be reduced, and no one should be left out.

It is workers who have borne much of the worst impacts of the crisis. Many are carrying the whole community through it. They have also suffered wrecked jobs, reduced hours of work, severe income cuts, being forced to access superannuation, and being put at risk of exposure to the virus. They are the hidden heroes.

When we support working people, we can rebuild the economy for everyone. The ACTU calls on everyone to give this support, and one way to do it is to sign the petition.

Michele O’Neil, President of the ACTU said,

“We need leadership from the Morrison Government. We need a national economic reconstruction plan which will lay out the way forward and use strong government investment to create the secure jobs we need.

“We have 921,800 people out of work, 1.5 million underemployed and 3.5 million who are reliant on JobKeeper. Working people need the Morrison Government to continue the stimulus, and provide certainty about what comes next.

“We are still in the middle of this crisis and the Morrison Government is already trying to cut vital supports for working people and the unemployed. If you don’t protect working people they cannot protect the economy.

“We cannot slump back into the same spiral of insecure work and low wage growth. This recovery is an opportunity to improve the quality and security of jobs.”