In road transport, off the back of winning a world-class system last year, the first applications are well underway to start lifting the industry.
Together with new automatic rights that have kicked in—giving greater protections to owner drivers and gig workers—successful applications will lift deadly pressures in the industry and start setting decent standards in the gig economy to stop the undercutting.
We’ve also made an application in the cash-in-transit industry, which aims at holding the banks and retailers accountable for decent standards. Having the ability to pull banks into a room and listen to what TWU members are telling them about how their industry is broken: that’s how powerful this system is.
In aviation, members are working relentlessly to rebuild decent aviation jobs.
At the start of the year, dnata workers went on strike around the country for themselves and their families, but also for their industry, for a return to the lifetime careers that roles in aviation used to be.
Jetstar workers have used new TWU-won Same Job Same Pay laws to achieve huge increases in pay of up to $8000, as well as direct employment opportunities for labour hire workers.
We’ve ensured that Paul Jones, one of the key figures in the illegal outsourcing of Qantas ground workers, didn’t become the next Virgin CEO—and we’ve met new CEO Dave Emerson to discuss the need to prioritise workers.
Led by tens of thousands of members, we’re building to a huge campaign across our roads and skies in 2026.
We’ve aligned over 200 Enterprise Agreements to expire at the same time—which means that road transport and aviation workers will be able to fight together to lift standards.
We will have huge power to lift everyone’s pay and conditions and set better standards, with members leading the charge. But we need to keep building our strength as a union to pull it off.
Congrats to all delegates and members for your role in what’s been a huge start to the year. I look forward to what’s to come for the rest of 2025, as we head into one of our biggest opportunities ever to lift pay and conditions.
National Secretary Michael Kaine