Some highlights from the NSW stopwork rally against CFMEU administration on Tuesday 12 November. The NSW administrators engaged in intimidation and threats against workers to try to prevent the rally from going ahead, but you can’t stop genuine unionists from fighting for their right to have a democratic union and a choice in their representation.As well as some union news.Here's the link to the MEAA's gaza appealhttps://crm.meaa.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=15

Two features from the shop floor this week. First the experience of turning an unsafe workplace into one that is able to support its workers.Last week the 2024 Victoria Trades Hall Council HSR conference addressed the topic of OHS skills for active Health and Safety Representatives. We hear one of the featured workplace stories from the conference.  We follow up with part of a discussion between Autistic disability activist Shaun Bickley with Pryia Kunjan from 3cr Thursday Breakfast about the labour exploitation of disabled people with a focus on the issue of wage theft by Australian Disability Enterprises or ADEs.

On today’s program we come back to this issue of union solidarity for the struggle in Palestine. We will hear from rank and file unionist working for the public service, Judy McVey talk about the history so far with union support for the struggle, and why workers need to keep fighting.We will also continue our coverage of the CFMEU administration – last week on the show we covered the Westgate Bridge Collapse and how the CFMEU’s track record of improved workplace safety was born out of the devastation of that industrial disaster. Today we broadcast some speeches from a public meeting talking once again about the CFMEU’s track record of ensuring health and safety on site, as well as its support of migrant women in the workplace.

First we talk with workers compensation Laywer Michelle Tran about Vietnamese workers who are affected by silica dust who are missing out on the financial and medical support they need. We remember the Westgate Bridge disaster. 54 years ago the Westgate Bridge collapsed killing 35 workers outright in Australia’s worst construction disaster to date. We go to this years memorial.

Ralph Edwards former Victorian President of the CFMEU and BLF member speaks at migrant workers meeting in Melbourne on the attacks on the CFMEU, lessons for workers and the hostory of the BLF deregistration campaign. 

We hear from the Refugee Rally supported by the UWU. We hear from Defend The Union, Defend the CFMEU. We hear from Union voices in support of Palestine in this darkest time.

More than 1,000 Qantas engineers walked off the job on Monday 30 September, in an escalation of industrial action taken over a wage dispute. This week, we speak with Steve Murphy, National Secretary of the AMWU, about what’s behind this industrial action.Plus, some union news

On Tuesday 17th Brisbane saw 5,000 construction workers rally in support of their Union the CFMEU and the new Line in the Sand Campaign endorsed by the Building Industry Group of Unions the AMWU, CFMEU, ETU & PPTEU. This was the first in large rallies around the country with Melbourne seeing 60,000 workers arriving outside the Trades Hall Council Building on the 18th and then snaking its way down through the city to Flagstaff Gardens. First, we hear from Troy Gray from the ETU who MCed the rally and then Zack Smith the National Secretary of the CFMEU before they took to the stage.

On this weeks episode James Brennan speaks with Logan from Melbourne activist legal service about the recent Disrupt Land Forces protests that took place in Melbourne. The protests saw police violence including the use of so called non lethal weapons being deployed against the protesters. The interview speaks about what took place at the protest as well as detailing the rights of those in attendance and what they can do to follow their legal rights. 

On today’s show we cover  indefinite strike action at Don KR smallgoods in Castlemaine, as well as a industrial action at Victoria University, whose Vice Chancellor has taken the nuclear option in relation and locked out the workers. Also, some union news from Ambulance Victoria workers; Central Highlands Council workers; Catholic Education Tasmania teachers; and Child Protection workers in NSW. Support the VU workers via their strike fund: https://www.nteu.au/donation/defaultSupport the Dons Smallgoods workers via their strike fund [to be updated when Bendigo Trades Hall announces details]

This week we go to one of the massive rallies held around the country on Tuesday 27th August in support of the CFMEU Construction Division as the Federal Government passes legislation putting the Union under administration and undermining the recently Fair Work Commission approved eba. We follow that with the broader agenda which has led to a community campaign Defend Unions Defend the CFMEU.