4 September 2019

The merger of United Voice and the National Union of Workers to form an innovative new super-union — to be called the United Workers Union (UWU) — has been approved by an overwhelming 95% of members. Responding to the result, the NUW’s Tim Kennedy said, “We represent workers at the sharp end of social and economic inequality, in areas such as education, logistics, cleaning, building services, health and aged care. We represent the workers who manufacture and distribute the food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals we all rely on. Our combined 150,000 members share a strong history of taking up the fight for all working people. They have voted for a transformative new union that will put workers at the centre of our economic and political system.” Employers are concerned that the new union will use “co-ordinated industrial ­action … to leverage their greater power in a more strategic manner as a means to promote change to business and government policy”. Bring it on.