In this Zoom forum ACTU President Michele O'Neil speaks on the ACTU's recently announced National Economic Reconstruction Plan, available here: https://action.australianunions.org.a...

About the National Economic Reconstruction Plan

Australian Unions have developed a National Economic Reconstruction Plan, with five concrete ideas to tackle the issues of job insecurity, inequality, and record-low wage growth.

The five specific proposals described in the NERP represent an initial agenda of immediate, pragmatic actions that the Commonwealth government could take to get the ball rolling. On their own they do not constitute the national jobs and reconstruction plan that Australia needs. But they are a big step in the right direction. Together they would support the creation of 350,000 new jobs, help to sustain over 500,000 existing jobs at risk, and open training and apprenticeship opportunities for 250,000 more young Australians. These five policies alone would provide an immediate boost to employment, incomes, confidence, and investment in several of Australia’s hardest-hit sectors. They focus on supporting work and production in the domestic economy, especially in sectors with very strong employment effects.

By showing the required leadership from government to mobilise resources (including, first and foremost, our capacity to work) and invest them to address our most pressing health, economic and social needs, these five initial policies would show that a national reconstruction plan is both necessary and feasible.

About Michele O’Neil Michele

O'Neil is the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. She began her working life as a waitress, went on to work in the community sector with homeless young people and to then work in the clothing industry.

Before being elected as ACTU President in 2018, Michele represented workers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry as an organiser and then Branch and National Secretary of the TCFUA (Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia). She represented her union Nationally and Internationally and led campaigns to win world leading rights for workers throughout clothing supply chains. A model of supply chain accountability for workers which increased pay and conditions for some of Australia’s most exploited workers.

Following the amalgamation of the TCFUA and the CFMEU Michele was CFMEU Vice President.