Stick Together

Today we go to the rally by Voice for Members CPSU (Community and Public Sector Union) on the steps of Victorian Parliament Wednesday 28th May pushing back against announced cuts of 3,000 public service jobs in the recent Victorian State budget.

Two reports today. The first takes us to Altona North in Melbourne to a community picket supporting food workers at one of the largest bakery companies operating in Australia who began stop work action on May 14 for a 15% wage increases over three years.Our second story takes us back to the historic 1998 Waterfront dispute with Patrick’s with some mind blowing facts about the extent Government and Employers will go to to crush worker rights at work.

This week's episode of Stick Together brings you stories from the frontline with union news followed by a talk from the Marxism conference on the 1917 General Strike in Australia.

Today we are exploring the issue of a 4-day work week with some experiences from Unions in the UK.

On today’s program we wrap up May Day Events around the world and of course, right here in Australia. Happy May Day Comrades! May the struggle continue

On 24 April 2013 the eight-story Rana Plaza building in Dhaka Bangladesh collapsed. The owners of a number of garment factories in the building had ignored the most basic safety regulations, and forced workers to keep working when it was clear the walls were cracking. In Bangladesh, workers are paid monthly, at the end of the month. The collapse happened on the 24th, and workers were threatened with non payment of wages, if they didn’t enter the clearly unstable building. The confirmed death toll was 1,130. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued.Rana Plaza shows how little the fashion brands care about the lives of the workers that produce the clothes that make them insane profits. Guests today are Rupali Akter and Taslima Akter. Rupali is a survivor of the Rana Plazar collapse. She was in the building on the day, and she was buried under the rubble for 17 hours before being rescued. Taslima Akter is a photo journalist and activist. She was onsite in the immediate aftermath, documenting and bearing witness to the horror. Taslima is the Secretary and Rupali is the President of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity. Taslima is interpreting for Rupali in this interview.This interview was conducted in 2023, during an international solidarity visit to Melbourne to commemorate 10 years since the collapse. Today, 12 years later, not much has changed other than garment workers were instrumental in the self-imposed exile of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

When Chris Breen and his wife lost their baby Priya when she was just six weeks old, they needed time to grieve.But while Chris was still able to take his planned three months of parental leave, his wife, who goes by the name Priya’s mum, was forced back to work.That's because her planned paid maternity leave was cancelled by her employer. The two embarked on an important but very emotional campaign to ensure that paid parental leave cannot be cancelled in the event of still birth or infant mortality. I had the privilege of speaking with both of them, and here’s their story and campaign.Sign the petition here

This episode with host James Brennan brings you union news and an interview with Alexis Vassiley author of the new book Striking ore 'The Rise and fall of union power in the Pilbara'. Striking ore focuses on the workers themselves including their agitating for hard won breakthroughs in pay, conditions and safety.

After a 74-hour strike by 1,000 workers, the Nexperia Philippines Workers’ Union secured the reinstatement of union leaders Mary Ann Castillo (president) and Girlie Battad (union official), along with a PHP50 (US$0.87) wage increase over three years. My guest today is Rochelle Porras from Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research in the Philippines.

The Wills electorate is currently held by Labor MP Peter Kahlil who has been the elected representative since 2016. This show is not to endorse any candidates for the election but is looking into a key seat in the federal election. Some of the issues we have been covering on the show such as the CFMEU, Palestine, Socialist politics, military spending, cost of living and the parties connection to the union movement will be contested down Sydney road.As we look to see the impact of some of these issues on the election, in this episode I speak with two members of the Greens Wills campaign to hear what the mood on the ground is like with the federal election announcement imminent.