Following the re-election of the Coalition government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged the need for industrial relations (IR) reforms. Under the façade of “ensuring integrity” and “improving productivity”, these reforms seek to once again attack trade unions and workers.
Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU)
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union organised a protest on July 6 to demand that penalty rates be reinstated. Penalty rates were cut for the second time in early July. Meanwhile federal MPs gave themselves a pay rise.
The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) was formed in late 2016 as a response to growing dissatisfaction among retail workers with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). The Labor right-controlled SDA is notorious for negotiating enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) that contain below award wages and eroding the rights and conditions of workers.


