SBS News in Filipino, Thursday 14 August 2025
Business groups have rejected unions' call for a shorter working week, saying it would reduce productivity.
Gilas bows out of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 after falling short versus Australia.
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Uncertainty still surrounds government pay deals with police, teachers, and nurses and midwives
Most people know at least one nurse, midwife, police officer or teacher. They make up a tick over 63 per cent of Queensland's key frontline workforce, and right now the state government is negotiating new pay deals with all of them. Griifith University industrial relations expert Ben French said dealing with three such influential groups all at once put the government in a "tricky spot". The situation is a result of enterprise bargaining agreements "rolling over" during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Now they've all come up at the same time for the new government," Dr French said. It's been tough going for negotiators. The police union has agreed in-principle to a deal, but the government is in conciliation with both the nurses' and the teachers' unions in front of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC). In early August, teachers across the state went on strike for the first time in 16 years. Earlier in the month, nurses and midwives took industrial action by refusing to do tasks not related to critical care. Pandanus Petter from Australian National University's School of Business and Politics said as opposition leader, David Crisafulli was keen to paint himself as someone who would not repeat "the mistakes of the Newman era". "He positioned himself as someone who was not going to radically cut the public service," Dr Petter said. "He was saying, 'You know, what I want to do is empower the public service.' The government has offered an 8 per cent raise over three years to the police and teachers, while nurses and midwives have been offered an 11 per cent wage rise. This "fairly prescriptive model" has come with various add-ons and extras for each industry, Dr French said. He said these one-off payments "that are not part of the actual increase" are a way the government can save money down the track. "If you get a pay rise and you get an increase, it's on the base rate … the next time you come around your base rate is higher and you can build on that," he said, adding bonus payments did not feed into employees' super or overtime. Already those differing extras have caused friction. The Queensland Nurses' and Midwives' Union (QNMU) publicly derided the government for offering some police officers an $8,000 retention bonus over two years. Secretary Sarah Beaman said it was "outrageous" that the government had already struck a "better deal" with the police union after months of negotiating with the QNMU. The nurses and midwives EBA nominally ended on March 31, while the teachers and police ended on June 30. "Does this government have a problem with nurses and midwives?" Ms Beaman asked. Dr French said none of the three deals were set in stone. The state legislation allows for six months of negotiations from the day the EBA nominally ends or three months from the beginning of conciliation. After that, the parties can apply for arbitration, where the QIRC will decide what's fair. In the case of nurses and midwives, who are chasing a 13 per cent wage rise they say will deliver "nation-leading pay", the last scheduled conciliation meeting is September 2. At the behest of QIRC deputy president John Merrell, the QNMU agreed to pause industrial action until then, but said they would take further steps if negotiations failed. The Queensland Teachers' Union sent a letter to members on Thursday, seen by the ABC, confirming they had given the government until the end of the month to come up with a better deal or risk further strike action. QTU vice president Leah Olsen said more work stoppages would be a "last resort" option for the union, adding the union's members did "not take industrial action lightly". "Further strike action during school hours can be avoided if the government delivers a package members see value in," Ms Olsen said. As for the police, while there is an in-principle deal in place, union members still have to vote on whether to approve it next month. "My guess is they will vote it down," Dr French said. Both Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek and Health Minister Tim Nicholls have expressed their commitment to getting deals over the line through the conciliation process. Mr Langbroek said the government met with QTU negotiators 18 times over five months before the conciliation process began. The QNMU said they had met with the government for a total of more than 150 hours before they took industrial action last month. Dr Petter said with an election just gone there was little political risk for the government to come off as "tough but fair" in this round of negotiations. However, if three-year deals were signed all round, the next time they would be negotiating would be in the lead up to the 2028 election.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Ute driver charged with manslaughter over pedestrian deaths in Logan, south of Brisbane
A 41-year-old man from Regents Park has been charged with two counts of manslaughter, following a double fatal traffic crash on Sunday. Emergency services were call to Green Road at Regents Park south of Brisbane at about 11:15am after a crash involving a white ute and two pedestrians. A 33-year-old man and his four-year-old son died at the scene, after being struck by the ute. The driver of the ute was taken into custody and has since been charged. He is due to appear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court today. Police are calling for anyone with relevant information or vision of the ute prior to the incident, to come forward.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Grow Early Education in Townsville rebrands while under investigation
A north Queensland childcare centre has rebranded amid investigations into complaints about supervision and alleged injuries to children. The ABC revealed earlier this month that Grow Early Education, operating in Townsville's Bushland Beach, had breached multiple regulations since opening in late 2023. Freedom of Information (FOI) documents revealed 19 breaches were substantiated by the Early Childhood Regulation Authority against the centre. Seven new complaints, as recent as March 2025, are still being investigated. This month, Grow announced that a "new chapter" was beginning and the centre would be called Imagine Childcare and Kindergarten, Bushland Beach. The childcare is run by the for-profit parent body, Imagine Education Australia. A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed the provider lodged an application with the regulatory authority requesting the name change. That application was approved on July 23. On social media this month, the centre wrote that every child deserved a safe, nurturing place where they were loved, supported and inspired to flourish. "Every family deserves to feel confident that their little one is in caring hands," the centre said. Investigations are ongoing into complaints about the centre. Seven complaints, as recent as March this year, alleged injuries to children and inadequate supervision. The Department of Education said it was concluding its investigations into a number of complaints about the service. One complaint had been finalised and a second complaint was set to be finalised last week, while it said other ongoing investigations were expected to conclude shortly. Imagine Education did not respond to the ABC's requests for comment on the rebranding. When previously asked about the breach history at the Bushland Beach centre, Imagine Education chief executive Bill Adler said parents could have full confidence the centre was operating in accordance with all regulations following significant changes.
