So many things we take for granted and are now enshrined in law were secured for working Australians by workers in their unions. Unions work to defend and improve these conditions for all working Australians:

Paid Annual Leave was first won after a campaign by printing workers in 1936. The Arbitration Commission granted the workers paid leave, which was then gained by other workers through their unions in different industries. Annual leave loading of 17.5 per cent was first won by workers in the Metal Industry in 1973.

Awards are legally binding documents that set out the minimum entitlements for workers in every industry. The first industrial award, the Pastoral Workers Award was established by the Australian Workers Union in 1908 mainly covering shearers. The shearers had experienced a terrible deterioration of their wages and conditions during the 1897 Depression and decided to take action to protect working people. Since 1904 awards have underpinned the pay and terms and conditions of employment for millions of workers. Awards are unique to Australia and integral to ensuring workers get 'fair pay for a fair day's work'.

Penalty rates were established in 1947 when unions argued in the Arbitration Commission that people needed extra money for working outside normal hours.

Maternity leave was won by unions in the public sector. It recognised that working women had a right to come back to a job after the birth of their children. The Act for public servants entitled them to between six and 52 weeks of leave, including 12 weeks paid leave, if they had done 12 months continuous employment with the employer immediately before the start of the leave. Women working in the private sector were entitled to maternity leave in 1979.

Prior to 1986, only a select group of workers were entitled to Superannuation. It became a universal entitlement after the ACTU's National Wage Case. Employers had to pay 3% of workers' earnings into Superannuation.

Although there were attempts to introduce equal pay, going back as far as 1949, the principle of equal pay for women was finally adopted by Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in 1969.

Workers compensation laws first came into existence in West Australia in 1902. For many years unions agitated and campaigned for health and safety laws which compelled employers to provide a safe working environment. In Victoria, legislation was introduced 1985 which saw the active role of workers in maintaining safety on the job. Building unions agitated for many years to ban asbestos finally succeeding in the 1980s.

Started to appear in awards in the 1920s. Different unions have campaigned for better sick leave conditions over the years in different industries. Before sick leave, you turned up to work if you were sick or you went without pay.

Coal workers went on strike in 1949 over a 35 hour week and Long Service Leave. IT was finally introduced in New South Wales in 1951. Unions in other states follow.

The Arbitration Commission introduced the first Termination, Change and Redundancy Clause into awards due to work by metalworkers and their union. This entitled workers to redundancy pay.

Unions in different industries have campaigned for different allowances that pertain to their members. Many workers who are required to wear uniforms in their jobs get an allowance for this rather than having to pay for it themselves.

Shift allowances are money that's paid for working at night or in the afternoon. Different industries have different allowances that were won by workers and their unions over the years in those industries.

Before unions agitated for meal breaks and rest breaks to be introduced, workers were required to work the whole day without a break. In 1973, workers at Ford in Melbourne engaged in industrial action over many issues, one of their demands being a proper break from the production line.

Enterprise Bargaining was introduced in 1996 which allowed workers and their unions to negotiate directly with their employer over pay and conditions. Evidence from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that collective bargaining delivers better wages than individual agreements for ordinary workers.

Unfair Dismissal Protection came from the concept of a "fair go all round" after the Australian Workers Union took a case to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission on behalf of a worker who had been unfairly sacked in 1971. Since then, unions have campaigned for laws that reflect that 'fair go' principle which is about having a valid reason to sack someone and that the dismissal cannot be harsh, unjust or unreasonable.