You would’ve voted in our ballot about commencing industrial action recently, and now the results are in. The ballot closed yesterday at 3pm, and UAW workers overwhelmingly voted for change, with over 80% of you saying YES to industrial action.

It’s a win for workers, and it shows that you’re ready to fight together for change – but there’s still some way to go.

We met with UAW yesterday and in an incredibly disappointing (but unsurprising) turn of events, they refused to give us further details about how they will implement the upcoming national work value 15% award wage rise… or whether you’ll be forced to work more hours to make up for lost income if their attempts to slash paid meal breaks go ahead. The things we asked at our meeting with UAW are simple questions about things that immediately affect the livelihood of their workforce – so it’s especially frustrating for workers that UAW purposely refuse to answer them.

Thankfully, we still have the power to fight their aggressive tactics. Direct care workers will still get paid the award rise on 30 June regardless of what UAW says – because it’s been mandated by the Fair Work Commission. And now that you’ve voted up industrial action, we can also continue to fight for wage increases and paid meal breaks not only for those that have them, but for all workers, in your upcoming agreement negotiations.

Because you voted YES, it also means we’ll set up some meetings to chat more about work bans. We’ll have more information out to you very soon about meetings and how any industrial action will work.

We know your management are trying to intimidate you, but rest assured we can beat their dodgy tactics if we stay united. So, if you hear anything or have any concerns make sure you get in touch with us via HACSUassist at assist@hacsu.org.au or on 1300 880 032.