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Ad campaign in Queensland building to national rallies to Change the Rules

The peak body for working people has launched a month-long advertising campaign calling on Queenslanders to join national action for change.

Television and radio ads started yesterday in Queensland electorates, with regional rallies in October culminating in a major Brisbane rally on 20 November.

The TV advertisements screening nationally feature a woman drawing the comparison between exorbitant CEO pay, company profits and the very low or non-existent pay rises experienced by many working people.

An independent survey commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions found that 80 per cent of employed people had not had a pay rise that kept up with the cost living in the last 12 months, with nearly half receiving no pay rise at all.

A series of rallies will be held around the country in every capital city and many regional centres beginning on 18 October in Perth and continuing until 20 November in Brisbane.

Dates for Queensland actions organised so far:

  • Gladstone – 12 noon, 23 Oct – Marina Parklands
  • Cairns – 12.30pm, 23 Oct – Fogarty Park Sound Shell
  • Mackay – 12 noon, 23 Oct – Bluewater Quay
  • Rockhampton – 5pm, 23 Oct – Riverside Park Auditorium
  • Townsville – 5pm, 23 Oct – Strand Park
  • Brisbane – 12.30pm, 20 Nov – Emma Miller Place

“Working people in Australia are ready to show they that we need to change the rules so we can have fair pay and more secure jobs,” said Queensland Council of Unions Assistant General Secretary Michael Clifford.

“We are ready to change the rules so we can re-balance the system and negotiate on more equal terms with big business.

“The economy has changed and the narrow enterprise-only bargaining system is failing a lot of people. Stronger rights for working people will help rebalance the system. Our campaign is about bringing back a fair go for working people.

“We saw in the Longman by-election just a few months ago that stagnant wage growth and cuts to penalty rates really hit a nerve with voters,” he said.

He said media reports that workers could be fined for taking legitimate protest action about their own pay highlighted how broken Australia’s workplace laws were.

“Working people have had enough of businesses taking obscene profits and CEOs making exorbitant salaries at the expense of the pay rises and job security we need to get ahead of the cost of living.

“We are ready to take action to get the fair pay and more secure jobs we need to live better lives – join us at a rally in your area, or head to www.changetherules.org.au.”

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