Casual workers, women, young workers and older workers are unfairly discriminated against under our current compulsory superannuation retirement scheme, delegates to the AWU national conference were told today.

Australia has a proud history of compulsory superannuation for workers and the union movement in this country has been at the forefront of reforms to the national retirement savings scheme.

“ But many workers are currently being left further and further behind because low income workers, casual workers, the young, the old and women do not reap the benefits of our nation’s progressive retirement policies,” Paul Howes, AWU National Secretary, told the union’s delegates.

Union wants cross-bench MPs to pass laws to step-up Super contributions

The AWU national conference, meeting in Queensland, has called on the Federal Government to adopt major reforms to our retirement savings system.

The union, in a wide-ranging debate on superannuation, also called on the Independents in Federal Parliament to join with the Federal Government to pass the proposed laws for a stepped increase to compulsory superannuation contributions to 12 per cent.

The Australian Workers’ Union, Australia’s biggest blue-collar union, is holding a week-long national conference on the Gold Coast where it is celebrating its 125^th anniversary. Nearly 500 delegates and observers are attending the union’s bi-ennial conference, the AWU’s highest decision making body.

“ When the original superannuation laws were introduced in 1992 an exemption to superannuation payments for workers who earnt under $450 a month was adopted – but it was always meant to be a transitional arrangement.

End retirement savings discrimination against women, young people and casual workers

“ Now nearly two decades later this can be seen as anachronistic. Especially because casualisation of the workforce has jumped sharply in the last decade. Nearly 1-in-4 female workers are casual workers today.

“ By keeping the $450 exemption in place we are effectively discriminating against the very people in most need of support at retirement age – the low income earners,” Paul Howes said.

The union will now campaign for the Federal Government to immediately abolish the $450 a month superannuation exemption and call on the Government to ensure we end all retirement savings discrimination against low income earners.

Shorten tells delegates we could do better

The former AWU National Secretary, Bill Shorten, who is now the Minister for Superannuation told conference delegates that he felt there was more work to be done on super so that we can boost the retirement incomes of working Australians. He said unions should be supporting more improvements.

“They do it better in Brazil and Sweden and the Netherlands and other countries. I don’t want Australia to be a better country than anywhere else, but no-one should be any better than us.

“The adequacy of the retirement income of Australia’s workers is not good enough,” Shorten told the 500 delegates and observers.

Unions can increase members’ retirement savings by nominating industry superfunds

Mr Howes noted that while we support the Federal Government’s plans to increase compulsory superannuation contributions to 12% over the coming years, the AWU maintains its continued commitment to campaign for a further increase to the full 15 % that we believe every Australian worker should rightly receive.

Meanwhile National Conference assured AWU members that through the enterprise bargaining process our union will deliver 15% superannuation retirement savings to our members.

Speaking at the conference Ian Silk , theCEO of Australia’s biggest super fund, AustralianSuper, urged delegates to ensure that nominated industry super funds were written into their enterprise agreements.

Otherwise many employers will nominate retail funds which could see workers lose more than $100,000 from their final retirement package,Ian Silk, whose super fund represents many AWU members, warned the national conference

Source: Australian Workers Union

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