UNIONS - What is a union?

Congratulations, you’ve come to the right spot to get lots of information about unions!

Unions are organisations set by workers for workers. They help people get better pay and a fair go at work. They also help give working people a voice in the community and politics. Read more at our What is a Union page.

What have unions achieved? The list of union achievements is pretty long. The key achievements are better pay, paid holidays, safer work, superannuation and equal pay. Read more at our Union Achievements page.

How many unions are there? 46 unions actually, with about 1.8 million members. There’s a full list of unions at our links page.

What are super unions? Although there are 46 unions, most union members are part of about twenty ‘super’ unions that represent workers across a whole industry or sector of the economy. Good examples of super unions are:

AMWU – manufacturing workers - visit their website

ANF – nursing and health - visit their website

SDA – retail and distribution - visit their website

United Voice (formerly LHMU) - visit their website