Over the past few weeks, I’ve had many members asking what the union is doing about the increasing cost of fuel. 

And I think that is a really good question. 

First, we’re talking with the state government about expanding working from home arrangements. This helps reduce the burden of fuel costs, and recognises that members value flexibility at work. 

Second, we will be seeking targeted support, including fuel subsidies and discounted public transport, for workers who do not have the option to work remotely. 

Third, we are opposing the escalation of war. Publicly, clearly and unapologetically. Because reducing conflict is in the direct interests of working people. 

Some members say global politics should not be the remit of the union. Others say it must be. 

But here’s definitely what is in your union’s remit: 

• Your wages. 
• Wage growth. 
• How far your money gets you. 
• And how well you are able to live. 

And once we’re talking about those factors, we’re talking about the economy – inflation, what drives it, and how we respond to the ever-growing cost of living. 

Right now, one of the biggest factors impacting the economy is war. Which means: whether we like it or not, war is union business. 

This isn’t because we want to take sides in geopolitical conflicts. But because no matter how you cut it, in war, workers are always the ones who lose. 

In war time it is our services that are cut. Health. Education. Food security. Public infrastructure.  

It is our cost of living that rises. Fuel. Groceries. Rent. Everything. 

It is working people’s children who are sent to fight. Not the children of political leaders, the wealthy or the powerful. 

The union movement has always understood this. 

In times of conflict, unions have played a central role in protecting workers by ensuring fair conditions, and maintaining the industries that communities relied on; and opposing conscription that would send working people to the front lines. 

That is why the CPSU is anti-war. Because war is not abstract. War shows up in your weekly budget. It shows up at the petrol pump. It shows up in how far your pay goes. 

This is what it means to be a union. We deal with the reality of people’s lives. We respond to what affects you. And right now, war is affecting all of us.  

So yes, this is union business. 

In solidarity,