One woman lost her job after 18 years, another woman had her hours of work repeatedly threatened.  A group of women were told to meet their union in a toilet block and another group were not allowed to have a say over their new job contracts.  These are the real stories outlined in a new booklet produced to inform politicians about the detrimental effect that WorkChoices is having on Australian women.

Concerned that the experiences of many women have not been told and that the new industrial relations laws will not be strong enough, representatives from the Australian Services Union (ASU) and Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) and women workers launched Untold Damage: Why women need new IR laws in Canberra today.

The booklet details how women workers have been the hardest hit under WorkChoices and calls for new laws and rights – beyond the scrapping of WorkChoices.

ASU branch secretary Ingrid Stitt said women had an important role to play in the growth of Australia’s workforce and economic prosperity but WorkChoices had left a trail of destruction.