What’s a union?

A union is like a team or club that you can join. It’s main purpose is to look after the interests of its members. For a union, this means looking after their rights and interests at work, within their sector or industry and beyond in the community.

What can unions achieve?

Unions are one of the few ways that people can have a voice on the job and about what happens in our society. When people come together with a common goal they are far more powerful than when they try to reach goals as individuals. When they come together they have a better chance of getting what is fair at work and in society at large.

The benefits most people receive at work today are largely the result of what unions have done to improve their members’ wages, benefits and working conditions over the years. Through collective bargaining and by lobbying governments with other groups in the community, unions have won minimum standards and hours of work, overtime, holiday pay, health and safety protection, parental leave and pay equity.