A Union Rally of 150,000 Protestors Expected to Shutdown Melbourne's CBD This Morning

An expected 150,000 protesters will fill the streets of Melbourne's CBD this morning to march in a massive Change the Rules rally with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Beginning at Carlton's Victorian Trades Hall on October 23 at 10.30am, protesters will then march along Russell and La Trobe streets before making their way down Swanston Street and finishing around 12.30pm at Flinders Street Station.

As a result, commuters can expect closures down Lygon, Victoria and Swanston Streets and major disruptions to CBD public transport. Public Transport Victoria told the Age that there will be limited city trams from 9.30am until noon, with trams terminating outside the CBD limits during these hours, and buses will be affected in both directions along Lonsdale Street. Passengers are being told to catch the train instead where possible.

The Change the Rules rally calls on the Federal Government to improve working conditions and ensure workers can keep up with the rising cost of living by increasing the minimum wage. The rally extends to 22 locations across the country, with protests also taking place in Sydney, Wollongong, Gladstone, Cairns, Mackay, Darwin, Rockhampton and Townsville today.

"This political protest is aimed at making Scott Morrison and Federal politicians listen – our wages are going backwards, families are struggling [and] too many people are stuck in insecure work," says ACTU secretary Sally McManus in a statement.

According to the ACTU website, wage growth is nearing a record low — with four-out-of-five workers unable to keep up with the cost of living due to lack of pay rise, more than 28,000 full-time workers currently homeless and 40-percent of workers employed with 'insecure work' (contract, labour hire, casual, hourly etc).

Protesters are also calling for penalty rates to be restored, wage theft ended and to secure equal pay for women.

Head to the PTV website for live public transport updates and to the VicRoads website for live traffic delays and road closure information.

For more information on the Change the Rules movement and for the full schedule of rallies taking place across Australia on October 23, check the ACTU website.

Image: Kimberley Low