Australian Unemployed Workers' Union


The Australian Unemployed Workers' Union is an Australian union representing unemployed, underemployed, and unwaged workers', as well as all recipients of Social Security in Australia. The AUWU is a national organisation, with divisions and branches operating in every State/Territory in Australia.

History

Australia has a rich history of unemployed workers' struggles: from the 1840s Depression to the 2008-9 Great Recession, unemployed workers have organised themselves and fought to have their grievances heard and their demands addressed. With somewhere between 30-100 unemployed workers' groups emerging at the end of the 1970s alone, out of work workers have continuously been "active agents" in agitating to change an socioeconomic system that some say creates systemic, structural unemployment and disproportionately punishes them.
Australian forerunners to the AUWU include the Victorian Unemployed Workers' Union circa 1977-1990, the Wollongong Out of Workers Union, and the depression-era organisations of the 1930s.
The AUWU was founded in 2014 and began as a small, grass-roots advocacy group. Since then, the AUWU has grown enormously, with branches in every State/Territory in Australia and a membership base of over 15,000 members.

Coverage

Membership is open to all and free. Members agree to the AUWU's list of demands, guiding principles, and constitution.

List of demands

AUWU members and supporters are unified in their support of a "List of Demands" :

Fair welfare

  1. Raise all Centrelink benefits to the Henderson Poverty Line.
  2. Abolish work for the dole.
  3. End discrimination against Centrelink recipients.
  4. Remove punitive eligibility for Centrelink payments.
  5. Abolish use of privately owned employment services industry and reinstate Commonwealth Employment Service.

    Fair work

  6. Undertake extensive government-run job creation programs.
  7. Secure employment for all workers.
  8. Enforce minimum wage and award conditions in all workplaces.
  9. Reduce working week to 35 hours.
  10. Lower retirement age to 60.

    Activities

The AUWU provides the following services to its members :
The AUWU additionally carries out campaigns, produces original research, senate submissions, and reports, analyses Australian unemployment crises, gathers stories of unemployed workers' lived experiences, runs a regular "Fight Back" podcast, among many other activities.

In the media

In a June 2017 interview with the Courier-Mail, Greens senator Lee Rhiannon expressed support for the AUWU, and revealed she has donated $300 to the union.
2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham has publicly criticised the union, claiming it 'coaches people how to dodge responsibilities when it comes to work for the dole or finding a job...' AUWU member Ewen Kloas's response to this criticism was published by news.com.au.
In a statement to news.com.au, Liberal senator and Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash opined that, "Australian taxpayers and indeed those looking for work would be offended by a 'union' whose sole purpose appears to be keeping members out of gainful employment and encouraging them to shirk their responsibilities," and added that the organisation needs to "take a good hard look at itself."