THE risk of crippling industrial problems on the desalination plant project have receded after the more union-friendly bidder won and construction unions promised to adopt an unusually co-operative approach.

Subsidies are available to employers to continue to train for the trades, writes Jackson Board.

Apprentice plumbers who are struggling to get by should look into government support in order to help them keep placements and also to supplement their income.

Why didn't the 2020 Summit have at least a 50 per cent participation by the average Australian? Where were the underpaid checkout operators, apprentice plumbers, unemployed Big Issue vendors, part-time students and even a middle-class public servant or two? The summit was a great idea but I think the Government..read more

The State Government and plumbing unions are set for a legal showdown later this month, over union claims for a doubling of some apprentices' pay. In what could set a national precedent, unions have lodged a claim for a doubling of wages for first-year plumbing apprentices aged over 18...read more