Stick Together

We hear analysis from economist Alison Penngton about how the pandemic has impacted women's participation in the workforce and what we could do to change it. Plus union news focusing on women in the workforce.

Climate Activists from direct action colllective Blockade Australia were targeted by new anti-protest laws in NSW, with activists spied on and arrested for planning event sin Sydney at the end of June 2022. These critical unpaid workers are facing significant threats from state and fderal governments, with new laws featring huge fines and prison sentences being legislated in Tasmania and Victoria...

Positive outcomes for injured workers is always put against the premiums payed by employers. We go to Injured Workers Day event at Victorian Trades Hall and hear from injured workers and some of the actions by unions to move toward a better future.

Wage suppression has been going on for 40 years. The issue of wages and standard of living has reached a critical point as workers demand that profits are being gained at the expense of a fair deal.

On this week's epsidoe of Stick Together host James Brennan interviews long time socialist and climate activist Alex Bainbridge about what the Labor Government climate policy looks like and how we can push for further change.

This week we hear from Tanya McConvell has she recalls her stay amongst the people responsible for the Wavehill Walk-off at the time. 

This week we hear from Jacqui, a local woman who lost her husband in a workplace accident. We also hear from Yorta Yorta woman Dr Mishel McMahon speaking at the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History Conference about what care, community and labour mean to her as a first nations person.

Two reports today the first about journalists and their safety in the field as we mark the shooting death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh here followed by a look at the Early Childhood Education and Care Sector with the release of a new report Meeting Skills Shortages in an Expanding ECEC Industry here. 

On this week's episode host James Brennan interviews Victorian Socialist candidate Jerome Small about what it is like for a socialist to run in a federal election and to hear what it's like on the ground heading into the federal election. 

 This week we visit a memorial commemorating the Rana Plaza disaster. It was on Tuesday April 24th Labour Safety Day in Bangladesh, but we were at Quality Tops in Reservoir, Melbourne where a group of clothing workers bowed their heads remembering the over 1,000 Bengalese’s worker crushed to death when the building they were working in collapsed nine years ago. It was a reminder that worker solida...

In today's program we hear voices of Temporary Visa workers,  from Matt Kunkel from the Migrant Worker's Centre and about a new move by the Victorian Government to provide sick leave for Casual workers. 

In today's program we hear voices of temporary visa workers and then hear from Matt Kunkel from the Migrant Worker's Centre and a new move by the Victorian Government to provide sick leave for Casual workers which is a policy lever being employed to push back on the free ride employers have been taking when it comes to their employees’ health.

Concluding the series on the Australian Education sector James Brennan interviews Briley Sharp Vice Presidnet of the primary sector of the Australian Education Union.

First up we hear from the National Secretary of the Australian Education Union Correna Haythorpe about the slashing of Federal funds to Public Education The racially discriminatory Community Development Program has been renewed until July 2024. I spoke to Lara Watson, ACTU Indigenous Officer for some background on the scheme and what this new announcement now means for people on remote communities

Today we feature voices from the School Strike for Climate Action held on Friday 25th March but first some Union news.

A long interview with feminist, socialist and teacher of more than 30 years Mary Merkenich discussing the recent YES vote on a new Victorian Government Schools Agreement. The YES vote carried 61% of delegate votes held over the past 3 weeks - but deep concerns remain about the efficacy of this agreement, with Victorian Teachers remaining the lowest paid in the country. So - what can unionists do n...

Last week was International Working Women's Day. First up a little from Jess Hill, investigative reporter and author, who was speaking at a University of Technology Sydney IWD event, then an up close and personal experience of sexual harassment and fight back at a workplace with the Not Your Honey Campaign, a word from Sally McManus Secretary of the ACTU – the Australian Council of Trade Unions fi...

Host James Brennan continues his series on the Australian education system inerviewing the authors of a new book titled Waiting for Gonski: How Australia failed its schools. 

Two High Court decisions in early February around the definition of who is an employee and who is a contractor sent shockwaves across the Australian industrial landscape. We discuss the issues with Professor Anthony Forsyth, Department Head of Law at the RMIT Graduate School of Business and Law. Inquiry into Victorian On-Demand Workforce hereProfessor Forsyth's  Book:                             ...

Today on Stick Together we hear from a midwife who has left her profession of more than a decade, no longer willing to work in Covid ravaged hospitals. Plus we cover the RTBU actions in Sydney, Health Workers on strike and the Senate Select Committee on Job Security. 

Today we hear from a successful worker lead campaign to maintain conditions and wages at CSR and follow with an insiders view of what is happening for nurses during the covid crisis.  

On this week's episode we continue the series on the Australian education system with James Brennan speaking with retired teacher Gerry Beaton. Looking at the changes from the diminished power of the union to the shifting of Government funding from state schools into the private school system. 

Today we look at the moves by Patricks Stevedoring Company to wipe out the enterprise agreement on their sites across Australia. This is following a corporate trend coming from Svitzer and Qantas. We follow with a look at Australia's deadliest industry - trucking. 

What do rank and file Health Workers think about new policy settings as Omicron runs roughshod over the eastern seaboard, SA and NT? Are health unions, and those of other essential workers, considering more dramatic action as pressure on workers increases? We speak to industrial relations reporter and health care organiser Sarah Hathway. 

Is the Federal Government's 'plan' fit for purpose with the omicron variant of covid spreading like wild fire across Australia? We hear from the ACTU, the Aged Care Sector and the Earlier Educators.