Brisbane bus drivers still fighting for safety
It has been 10 months since Brisbane bus driver Manmeet Alisher was murdered at work. It’s been nearly that long since the start of enterprise agreement negotiations between bus drivers and Brisbane City Council. Predictably, the main issue for drivers is safety, but they are also demandin...CONTINUE READING
Construction workers fly the flag for equality
For a few days in the first week of September, the rainbow flag flew above a large construction site in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. Red Flag spoke to the CFMEU member whose idea it was to hoist the flag, an international symbol of pride and solidarity, on his job. “I won’t forget the m...CONTINUE READING
Early educators strike for equal pay
Thousands of early childhood educators walked off the job on 7 September as part of their campaign for equal pay. “Equally qualified industries in a male-dominated field get paid 30 percent more than we do”, one of the striking workers explained to Red Flag. “So we need to be paid more. We...CONTINUE READING
Vote ‘no’ in Sydney Uni’s anti-union poll
In a shock bargaining move, management at the University of Sydney has started a process to side-step the National Tertiary and Education Union. News of the university’s manoeuvre came Monday as a stop work meeting of 250 union members was underway. The meeting had been called to plan a 24...CONTINUE READING
Unprecedented: Murdoch University terminates agreement with 3,500 staff
A dramatic Fair Work Commission decision to terminate the Murdoch University enterprise agreement is the latest indicator of a vicious turn in the class war in Australia. The agreement, which sets the pay and conditions for 3,500 university workers, will cease on 26 September. Cancelling t...CONTINUE READING
Are Australian unions ready for Amazon?
Causing major ripples among local retail bosses, Amazon announced in April that it’s coming to Australia. This month it took the next step, leasing a warehouse in Dandenong. The former Bunnings shell in Melbourne’s outer south-east will become Amazon’s first Australian “fulfilment centre”....CONTINUE READING
Taking action at work to support Yes campaign
Swamped by support at RMIT Two weeks ago I started a push to sell Yes badges, and have now sold more than I can count. In 14 years at RMIT, this is far and away the most popular thing I’ve ever done in this workplace. Nobody has refused, and a “bad” response is when someone buys only a sin...CONTINUE READING
A death on the job
It was my first experience working in a blue collar industry. I was labouring on a construction site in Balnarring, on the Mornington Peninsula. It was a VCON site owned by Element Five. I was formally employed by a workmate so the boss didn’t have to deal with multiple invoices. No white...CONTINUE READING
Union members at Sydney Uni kick off industrial campaign
At a packed meeting on 17 August, members of the University of Sydney NTEU branch voted overwhelmingly to take strike action to fight management’s aggressive attacks on working conditions. The first action was an event to disrupt Open Day on 26 August. More than 100 staff picketed key entr...CONTINUE READING