Stick Together

A focus on silicosis that insidious disease that increasingly is stalking the young in work places as varied as tunnellers, concreters, kitchen bench makers and grave stone carvers. We hear from some of the speakers at the Injured Workers Day at VTHC and round it off with a word from CFMEU’s Gerry Ayres at the most recent May Day who spoke about the national Union campaign to protect workers from an early grave from silicosis.

We go outside Victoria Trades Hall on Tuesday 29th of May with a very large crowd of people gathered for the unveiling of the workers' hero Zelda D’prano. A fighter for women's equality and a mighty Union woman. Speeches from Will Struke, Julia Gillard, Dr Claire Wright and a chat with Alma Geekie.

From sham contracting, low causal pay and high rates of casualization, shutting down of local services, the appropriation of greenspaces, draconian anti protest laws and the imprisonment and murder of unionists in countries in our region. The common threat in all the news this week is that collective effort, solidarity, is the only way forward for a better future.

Today we have the recent Federal Budget in focus. NENA the New Economy Network Australia recently hosted a discussion lead by Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute, that aimed to break down the budget so ordinary people could get a grip on some of the issues that affect our lives directly.

Australia continues to become a state focused on militarism. The AUKUS agreement planned by former PM Morrison is being set by PM Albanese. The recent defense review paper continues a steady climb for Australia to become a military power in the region. A concerning part of this is the use of the nuclear industry, on this show Tilman Ruff from ICAN speaks about the nuclear threat to Australian politics.

From May 1 to 5 the National Tertiary Education Union, the NTEU, called a national week of action with stop work rallies across Australia’s public Universities.  On Wednesday May 3rd Victorian NTEU members took part in a 24hr strike, with members from Monash, University of Melbourne, RMIT University, La Trobe, VU and Deakin University Branch all joining at Trades Hall in Carlton, for a stop work meeting and rally. First up some of the members tell us why they were there.

Today we hear some reflections on the cost-of-living crisis in a rural context from Dave Fox from the AMWU and Secretary of the Bendigo Trades and Labour Council We then draw the lens back to a world trade perspective, IPEF, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework and the most recent update from Trade Justice Fund America on the progress of IPEF the latest US economic pact being hammered out which includes Australia and 12 of our nearest neighbours.

This week's Stick Together Program is actually from the vault as far back as 2012 to honour the passing of the well known Father Bob McGuire. The replaying of the program was prompted by the many comments in appreciation of Father Bob's work and that it is always good to learn from his own voice what he was on about. The program was centred on how Unions supported Father Bob's work as he himself supported workers and others who society has maligned. The program includes the then secretary of the Victorian ETU the Electrical Trades Union Dean Mighell.

Portland local David Rovics spends his time touring across the United States and Europe writing songs that represnt radical politics both historical and current. He recently returned to Australia for the first time in a few years touring across the east coast, host James Brennan spoke with him about his music and some of the campaigns he's witnessed and been apart of across his recent journey.

On the Wednesday before Easter the CFMMEU Construction and General division called a national day of action in the lead up to their new eba and the upcoming announcements around the Annual Wages Review which sets the pay for the lowest paid workers in Australia. We go to the 20,000 strong Melbourne rally.