The Sydney Morning Herald logo

Sally McManus

Advertisement
ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

Unions seek 5 per cent pay boost for lowest-paid workers

The ACTU has warned it may lift its claim higher, as global conflict and energy price volatility continue to drive up inflation.

  • Annika Smethurst

Latest

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says increasing annual leave will help make up for decades of shortfalls in real wage growth.

Unions demand Albanese hand every worker 25 per cent more holidays

An extra week of paid annual leave to compensate for unpaid overtime would be the first increase to the entitlement since the 1970s.

  • Millie Muroi
Western Sydney International Airport is involved in a construction sector scandal.

Ministers demand answers over Western Sydney Airport violence, intimidation claims

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has written to the airport’s corporation after allegations of criminality from a key contractor.

  • Nick Newling, Paul Sakkal, Alexandra Smith and David Swan
ACTU president Sally McManus and Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar.

Lunchbreak deal to find ways to pay artists for work hoovered up by AI

Australia’s top unionist and a tech billionaire are making moves to confront the challenge of artificial intelligence.

  • Paul Sakkal
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson at the economic roundtable on Tuesday.

Push to recognise overseas qualifications before unions and business clash on tax

As the federal government’s roundtable kicked off with broad agreement to tackle skills and tariffs, a former RBA governor launched an attack on Labor’s economic management.

  • Paul Sakkal and Shane Wright
The ACTU has outlined a broad agenda of tax increases and regulation overhauls to boost housing.

Headache for Labor as unions demand tax changes to negative gearing, family trusts

Adding to Labor’s challenge is a fresh call from the Productivity Commission to relitigate a carbon price and ditch popular EV subsidies at its upcoming economic roundtable.

  • Shane Wright and Natassia Chrysanthos
Advertisement
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

Unions say index super tax hit to protect ordinary workers

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is under pressure from the union movement to overhaul his proposed hit on wealthy superannuation account holders.

  • Shane Wright
AI looms as a critical workplace battleground in Labor’s second term.
  • Exclusive
  • AI

Big business says it will transform productivity. Unions say it will destroy jobs. Labor’s in the middle

New laws that could regulate the use of AI loom as a critical workplace battleground for Anthony Albanese – and set up another potential flashpoint with the White House.

  • Paul Sakkal
retail workers

Unions demand new wage theft tribunal as Labor vows to stop penalty rate changes

In a striking clash with Labor’s agenda, the Coalition will promise to slash taxes for small businesses.

  • David Crowe and Paul Sakkal
(Clockwise from top left): Briony Scott, Jelena Dokic, Sally McManus,  Ita Buttrose 

The best bits of Fitz. My best chats of 2024

This year, I published 46 interviews in this space. These are the exchanges that most resonated with you, or most moved me, or turned out to be particularly prescient.

  • Peter FitzSimons