Working for free – The new normal
This report finds that unpaid overtime remains widespread and deeply normalised across industries, with little evidence of meaningful improvement since the last report. In many workplaces, workers report increasing pressure to work beyond paid hours, contributing to serious impacts on their health, safety, and wellbeing.
DISRESPECTED, DISREGARDED, AND DISCARDED: Workplace exploitation, sexual harassment and the experience of migrant women living in Australia on temporary visas
Unions NSW’s research aims to expose the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment among women on temporary visas and provide evidence for developing effective strategies to address their needs.
Australia: no longer the lucky country? Rates of unpaid overtime and the decline of the 38-hour work week.
Unions NSW survey results reveal unpaid overtime worked by Australian employees has reached crisis levels. On average Australian workers perform over an hour and a half of unpaid overtime per day. Over a full year the total amount of unpaid overtime worked by Australian employees is over 11 weeks.
Union men’s perspectives on gender equity: Interim research report
Like all gender equity endeavours, this project has grown from the extensive legacy of women, men,
and gender-diverse people who believed in – and struggled for – a more equal future.
Wage theft – The shadow market empowering migrant workers to enforce their rights
This Unions NSW research demonstrates that the exploitation of migrant workers in Australia is endemic and a direct result of the current visa system that makes workers reliant on their employers due to the precarious nature of their visa status.
Jobs worth fighting for: Five ideas to reform Australian workplaces
Unions NSW is bringing together unions, employers, civil society and governments to address the nation’s shared economic challenges and some of the most pressing issues in our workplaces.
Wage norms and the link to public sector salary caps
This report addresses the nature and effects of wage norms and their links to public sector salary caps.
Women’s Economic Opportunity Review Submission March 2022
Unions NSW’s submission to the NSW Government’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Review focuses on ten recommendations to support women in the workforce.
Gender Equality Position Paper
Unions NSW values equality, justice, integrity and progressing the lives of working people.
Build it here: The economic cost of offshoring major transport projects in New South Wales
Public procurement is a major driver of economic activity, constituting 15% of GPD – higher than the OECD average of 11%.
Working for $9 an hour
Labour is vital to the Australian horticulture industry. Seasonal variation and the transient nature of the work makes the farmworker population difficult to measure.
Wage Theft: Horticulture report
At time of writing migration to Australia is at an all-time low. Many nations have begun their roll out of vaccines for the COVID-19 virus however the pandemic still poses a serious threat to lives and economies.
Wage Theft: Lighting up the Black Market
In some sections of the workforce underpayment of wages has become routine. Employers are unashamedly advertising below Award rates for vacant positions.
Wage Theft: The Shadow Market
The exploitation of temporary migrant workers in Australia is a common and known problem that appears to be endemic throughout Australian workplaces.
Premier’s lack of confidence in local industry an opportunity missed
Gladys Berejiklian’s claim that we are not “good” at building trains in NSW suggests we are missing a great opportunity to bring manufacturing home post-pandemic, writes Mark Morey.
Airtasker report
A case study into the employment practices and employment conditions available to workers who use the online platform Airtasker.
Wage Theft Report 2018
Wage theft is major problem in Australia. Businesses often see workers from non-english speaking countries and migrant workers as easier to exploit.