The United Workers Union (UWU) is an Australian

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

. Described as the biggest blue-collar union in Australia, the UWU covers more than 150,000 workers within over 45 industries, including warehousing, defence,

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

, health, disability support, early childhood education, aged care, logistics and supermarket supply, cleaning, security, farming, manufacturing, and market research. The union is the result of a merger of two unions:

United Voice United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

and the

National Union of Workers The National Union of Workers was an Australian trade union formed in 1989. History The National Union of Workers of Australia was formed by a progressive amalgamation of unions from 1989 onwards in a time when all Australian unions were merging ...

. It is a member of the

Labor Left The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction. The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...

. The union is unique in its structure, having only one centralised federal branch which is not separated into state branches.

History

In 2018, plans began to merge the two the unions

and

. In June 2019, the

Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...

approved a vote on the proposed merger between the two unions held in August 2019. On 30 August 2019 the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

declared the result of the vote, with just over 95% of members supporting the amalgamation.

Governance and structure

The organisation operates as a national structure and does not have divisions or branches. Governance of the organisation is vested in a National Convention of approximately 500 Delegates, from industries and workplaces across Australia, elected by all financial members. A meeting of the convention is held every 4 years. Between meetings of the National Convention its powers are exercised by a Member Council, consisting of 50 rank and file Councillors and the National Executive. Both the Councillors and the National Executive are elected by and from the convention. The Committee of Management of the organisation is called the National Executive. It consists between 12 and 24 members, including the National President, National Secretary and 4 National Vice-Presidents. Elections for all office positions within the organisation are conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission. The term of office for all offices is 4 years. Tim Kennedy, former National Secretary of the NUW, is the National Secretary, and Jo-anne Schofield, former National Secretary of United Voice, is the National President.

Industrial coverage

The UWU have industrial coverage over: * Aged care, home care & disability support * Cleaners * Property Services * Security * Early Childhood Educators * Teacher's aides and education assistants * Farm workers * Food manufacturers * Poultry workers * Dairy workers * Restaurants, bars and cafes * Casino workers * Clubs * Pub workers * Ambulances & Paramedics * Health Workers * Health and Fitness workers * Logistics and supermarket supply * Manufacturing * Market research & call centre workers * Sales workers * Tourism * Veterinary, zoos & animal care * Laundries * Sports & entertainment workers

Politics

During the 2020 recession, the UWU pushed for "a universal income of $740 a week" and a " jobs guarantee".

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsiteOfficial Facebook pageOfficial Twitter page
Trade unions in Australia General unions