Immigrant Worker Exploitation

When Amy joined the Stick Together team she was really keen to bring updates in industries that are essential to caring for our planet and today is a special episode on just that. On Sunday the 8th of November, bush workers met up for a barbecue and to discuss unionising the industry in victoria. This was lead by ASU delegates and workers from Nature Links and Acacia Environmental. The day was a social gathering to encourage unionising the sector with other workers from companies offering land management, conservation and bush regeneration services. While there has been some union presence, these unionists are aiming hire than what has currently been done.  Deepest apologies to our regular listeners as there is no union news segment this week but please enjoy these inspiring conversations from the day.

This week we give a view on the political push, across the world, toward the right How working people's angst about the crisis in living standards in Australia is being weaponized against migrants - clouding people's view of what could be called the real and present dangers presented by capital's reliance of AI as the new Industrial Revolution.

We go to the recent DUDC defend Unions Defend the CFMEU meeting held on the 14th of Oct to hear from a fighting Union perspective. We follow with the ceremony held on the 15th of October to commemorate the 56 year anniversary of  the West Gate Bridge Disaster. A disaster that changed work safe laws forever in this country because of the Unions..

Australia's only national radio show focusing on industrial, social and workplace issues. Distributed nationally on the Community Radio Network. Our featured recording today comes from the 2016 Marxism Conference. It's a talk titled Hidden Histories: Mt Isa, presented by Tim Arnot and supplied to us by Socialist Alternative. Thanks to Socialist Alternative for making this recording available to Stick Together.As the conflict escalated, the Queensland government declared a state of emergency in January 1965, granting police extraordinary powers. The company locked out workers, and the dispute placed enormous pressure on miners and their families. The consequences continued long after the immediate industrial conflict had subsided.

In Todays show we are joined by Thomas Costa, secretary of Unions NSW to discuss Unions NSW report, Working For Free - The New Normal. Unpaid overtime is now common place for the majority of the Australian workforce and things are only getting worse with artificial intelligence.https://unionsnsw.org.au/publication/working-for-free-the-new-normal/

With One Nation setting the agenda on the Immigration numbers in Australia spare a thought for those people who are baring the brunt of the One Nation assault - immigrant workers. Today we hear voices of people experienced in the special brand of exploitation reserved for the latest immigrants arriving on Australian Shores.

Learn about QUT NTEU struggle to win better conditions, workloads and conditions in their current bargaining. Also travel back in time to February 2005, to hear an archival recording of Stick Together on former prime minister John Howard's industrial relations reforms.

Today we follow-up on the Victorian legislation designed to attack the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union hereThen we report on Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) in Victoria's fight against the State's largest disability housing homes provider Scope. On Friday 11/9, workers from 35 disability housing homes walked off the job and rallied outside Scope’s headquarters. Workers and their union have been in negotiations for a new EBA for 2 years here

Stick Together is a half-hour weekly show about workers rights and current affairs. Stick Together features interviews with workers, unionists, community campaigners and academics from right across Australia. This week's episode focuses on metro Melbourne council workers taking industrial action we hear from workers and the ASU.

It is with pride and pleasure that we bring PART 2 of an interview with an important First Nations figure in Health in Australia AND a staunch unionst, Dr Aunty Lyn McIness. Below is a link to the yarn between Amy and Aunty Lyn as it happened. The interview has been chopped up into parts to make it easier for you the listerner to navigate. The total legnth of the interview is 1 hour and 45 minutes.https://www.3cr.org.au/sticktogether/episode/doctor-aunty-lyn-mciness-first-nations-trail-blazer-community-controlled