Find out how new laws passed by the Albanese government strengthen union delegates’ rights including paid training, support to communicate with members on site and the ability to speak up for members in meetings.

$33,000, $26,000, $20,000: these are just some of the parcels of extra cash arriving in the wallets of MEU members across the nation on November 1st - the day the Albanese government’s ‘Same Job, Same Pay’ laws kicked in. In this episode you’ll hear from some of them.

Love is not a word you probably associate with your local Mayor. But there’s alot of love for Mayor Anne Baker. She pumped $400 million into the Bowen Basin including for the new Moranbah Hospital, and she saved the town of Glenden. But Anne’s worried if Labor loses the election money for the district will dry up.

Authorised by G Kelly, MEU National Office, 215 Clarence St Sydney 2000.

Until now, members mining iron ore at BHP’s hot, dusty sites in the Pilbara haven’t had much say in their pay and conditions. But thanks to years of work by the Western Mine Workers Alliance they’ve finally got a seat at the table to talk about family friendly rosters, guaranteed annual pay increases, and on time flights.

Cannabis can be prescribed to you by a doctor and over 600,000 Aussies are using it to treat medical conditions. But how are employers responding to use of cannabis products in high risk workplaces, like mine sites? We discuss impairment, workplace policies and find out how the union is helping members dealing with this emerging issue.

One accident at work is one too many. But how do we make it to zero? One bloke who knows almost everything there is to know about workplace safety is Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan. He says there are common causes, or patterns, in all workplace accidents. In fact there are 10 of them. We find out more.

There are 27 pretty happy coal miners at the Mt Pleasant open cut in the Hunter Valley, they’re the 1st workers in the country to get a pay rise thanks to the Albanese Government's new ‘Same Job, Same Pay’ laws… they’ll be getting an extra $25,000 a year. So, how do they feel? And who will they spend that money on? SPOILER ALERT: It’ll be their mums.

Train drivers at BHP’s iron ore division in The Pilbara are celebrating - they’ve just signed a great deal - but it’s been a long dusty road. And they had to threaten strike action to make the company see sense. Their colleagues over at Rio Tinto have also inked a new agreement. We find out more.

Coal miner Tom Mann was the Taylor Swift of unionists - he toured the world getting involved in union blues - like in Broken Hill where he was arrested helping miners in their fight against BHP. Phil Katz has written a new book on Tom Mann. In this episode Phil tells us about the vegetarian who carried guns, the working class man who spoke four languages, the tee-totaler who was the boogie man to bosses the world over.

Since the re-emergence of Black Lung disease in Queensland in 2015 the MEU has fought for improvements to legislation and industry practice. A recent conference in Cairns discussed what more can be done to prevent coal miners developing dust disease. Key presenters explain what the risks are, how they are managed and how workers can protect themselves.