LHMU - UNION ACTIVE

This year, thousands of LHMU members have won more take-home pay and greater respect for our work. In industries exposed to the economic downturn, members have stayed strong and braved the storm.

And – importantly at this time of year – many members have won guaranteed time off work to spend with family and friends.  

While members are proud of these gains, we are also determined to keep lifting ourselves up and extending our wins to others across our industries.

Take-Home Pay

By campaigning together LHMU security members are now more than $2,000 a year better off than guards without a union agreement.

This extra pay is a step towards a better life for guards and their families.  It is also a sign that guards’ skill and commitment is finally being recognised and valued.

Meanwhile, city cleaners have finally seen their pay packets grow after winning their 3-year fight with contractors. Their minimum wage is increasing from $199 to $427. They also won decent annual pay rises, locked in for four years. For many of our members, this means being able to save money for the first time.

Respect for our Work

Everyone wants to be valued for their work.

LHMU childcare members have had enough of being seen as ‘babysitters’. They have started pushing to be recognised and respected as professionals.

Already this year members  have won minimum training standards to ensure high quality care and improved staff-to-child ratios, so they can help children achieve better outcomes.

Staying Strong in the Downturn

Early in the year things looked pretty gloomy, with a lot of fears about our economy.

In manufacturing, some members were bargaining new agreements while production was slowing.  Members held the line, stopped employers from pushing us backwards, and won better job security.

But we did more than brave the storm.

Members will remember reading about our big strike at a Sunshine paint factory, where members defended a 35-hour week. Across their industry, this is a hard-won right that allows them to spend more time with their families and communities.

Time with Family and Friends

More leisure time is also a key demand for hospitality members. At many venues and hotels, employers want them to work nights and weekends at short notice.

While members know they work in a 24 hour industry, they also want to see their family and have a life outside of work.

That’s why hotel members have stuck together this year to draw a line in the sand and win better rosters with guaranteed weekends off.

And LHMU ambulance members had a major win with 10-hour rest breaks this year, which will allow them go to work properly rested and spend more with their kids.

Lifting Everyone Up

Our plans together to lift up our industries will be bigger and even more determined in the coming years, because many LHMU members are still overlooked and overworked every day in their jobs.

Together, we know that it is not enough to win change in one part of an industry – we need to make change across whole industries and work together to lift everyone up.

This determination to lift ourselves up is why more Victorians joined the LHMU this year than in any year in the past decade.

They want to be part of our team of members and delegates that are leading change in our sectors. And with everything you have achieved together this year it’s not hard to see why.

Jess Walsh,
State Secretary
LHMU Victoria