Members of the Annerley Branch have adopted a resolution calling for negotiated pay rises for health workers to be honoured.

Recently, the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszckuk, indicated that the scheduled pay rise could be suspended for six months, angering many in the health sector.

Alex Scott, Secretary of the Together union which represents most of Queensland’s public servants, had warned the state government not to “rat on the deal” for better pay, which had been agreed to in principle during 2019.

In adopting the resolution, many Branch members expressed deep concern that workers at the frontline battling COVID-19 would be penalised at such a critical time.

The Branch, which will support the ongoing union campaign to ensure the pay rise goes ahead, has conveyed the resolution to South Brisbane MP, Jackie Trad and Miller MP, Mark Bailey.

In other news….

• The Annerley Branch has established a special working group to examine the results of the recent Brisbane City Council elections. The group will develop a written submission to the campaign review expected to be formalised by Party Office in the near future. The 2020 elections, held late last month, saw no improvement for Labor in the Council Chamber, with the state government’s refusal to legislate for compulosory preferential voting giving the LNP a boost.

• Branch members have unanimously supported a resolution calling on the Palaszczuk Labor government to honour its election and State Conference commitments to protect Channel Country rivers, which are among the last remaining free flowing desert river systems in the world. The resolution, which has been sponsored by the Labor Environmental Action Network (LEAN), has resulted due to growing concerns about a lack of safeguards with respect to unconventional gas extraction activity in the region.

• For the first time, the Annerley Branch conducted its monthly meeting online via video link up on 7 April. With all face to face activities now cancelled, the Branch is planning to hold futher virtual online events to keep its members connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information contact the Branch at info@annerleylabor.org.

A big thumbs up goes to the Queensland state government for prohibiting real estate agents from pressuring jobless tenants to access super to pay rental arrears.

The Palaszczuk government’s announcement was in response to growing calls for real estate agents to cease insisting that jobless tenants apply to access their super as a “precursor to any discussion … about rental reductions”.

The union movement has repeatedly warned that tenants made jobless through COVID-19 who access their super could actually worsen their financial position over time if they lost insurance coverage.

Its thumbs down for the Morrison government for refusing to plug the gaps in the so-called ‘Jobkeeper’ legislation that will heavily impact the survival of the hospitality industry.

Under the new legislation casuals who have worked for less than 12 months will not be covered. Of course, the ACTU has demanded that this anomaly be addressed as a priority. Federal Labor supported the package despite the Morrison government rejecting its proposed amendments to extend eligibility to short-term casuals and temporary visa workers.