CPSU advocates for secure work at the Jobs and Skills Summit

CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly participated in the Jobs and Skills summit, an important event that brings together unions, employers, civil society, and governments to address shared economic challenges facing the nation.

?Real wage rises and fixing the broken bargaining system under the Fair Work Act are at the top of our movement’s agenda.

Melissa spoke at the event, highlighting the opportunities our government to address outsourcing and underinvestment in public sector staff and skills.?You can read Melissa's op-ed in The Mandarin here.

The aim of the Summit is to recommend immediate actions and opportunities for medium and long-term reforms, and led to a welcome?announcement from Finance, Women and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher?of 1000 traineeships to support Digital Transformation in the Public Service.

The key theme across all sessions of the two-day Summit was the critical role women’s workforce participation will play in shaping Australia’s future economic prosperity and resilience. Discussions around unlocking opportunities for those who want to reskill in order to more fully participate in the workforce have led to additional commitments that include the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia and new gender equity measures in the APS.

?In his closing remarks, the prime minister thanked the public service for its work and committed his government to rebuild public service capacity.