On The Job

On The Job is back and with new hosts: Kleo Cruse and Emma Hartley. This episode is for all workers with a reproductive system – yes, that’s you! The social stigma attached to menstruation and menopause often means workers are enduring the pain of normal bodily functions in silence. We chat to Ann-Marie Allan from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Kate Marshall from the Health And Community Services Union about how reproductive leave can help ease some of that pain. Keen to have reproductive leave at your workplace? Get things kickstarted by joining your union.Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian workers know all too well the dangers posed by working in an unsafe environment where being on the job means exposure  to dangerous, toxic airborne substances. Zac Smith is the Acting National Secretary of the CFMEU. He's our guest on this week's pod to discuss silicosis, and what Unions are doing to stop it.  The cruel punishment suffered by workers because of asbestos exposure lives long in the memory of the Union movement. Now, there is another airborne scourge in many workplaces that needs to be eliminated.Silicosis is a deadly disease caused by exposure to Silica dust, which is prevalent in the types of Engineered stone common in Australian homes and industries.   You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach is Editor at Large for the Australian Council of Trade Unions Twitter - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big business and corporations are always thinking about new and more subtle ways to change the perceptions and narrative about how they operate. On this week's edition of "On the Job", Emma Hartley and Kleo Cruse from ACTU HQ tell us about the bosses latest trick - "Woke-Washing."   You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach is Editor at Large for the Australian Council of Trade Unions Twitter - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week was a huge one for workers across the country as Labor passed its new Industrial Relations laws, The Secure Jobs Better pay bill. Australian Unions have spent a decade campaigning for a fairer deal when it comes to our workplace laws, and the Albanese government has started the work of repairing our broken system with this legislation. The Secretary of the ACTU, Sally McManus is my guest this week discussing the implications of these new laws. Also, we're joined by Jamie Newlyn, Assistant Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, to discuss the attempt by a big international shipping company to shut down Australia's port and lock out its workforce.   You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach is Editor at Large for the Australian Council of Trade Unions Twitter - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian workers are finding that what money they do earn is no longer anywhere near enough to pay the bills. Yet, employer and business groups are sharpening their attacks on Labor’s plan to get wages moving with its “Secure Jobs Better Pay” industrial relations legislation. Richard Denniss is the Chief Economist with the Independent think tank, The Australia Institute.  He’s not fooled by the bleating bosses. He joins us once again on the pod to talk about the silent crisis they don’t want you to know about - The Profit Crisis. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the FIFA World Cup gets underway in Qatar this week, the plight of migrant workers who have built the stadiums that are hosting the games will dissolve into the background for many people. For others though, this World Cup has become as much about human rights and workers safety and freedom from exploitation as it is about the scores and results. On this week's pod, I take a deep dive into the issue of workers and human rights in Qatar. Have reforms made it ok to play the world's greatest sporting event in that country?   _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent budget handed down by Labor treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered a huge win for families all across Australia with the extension of Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks, and more affordable early childhood education and care.Like all ground-breaking change, it didn't happen by accident.Unions and their allies have been campaigning tirelessly for over a decade to revamp Paid Parental Leave, better and affordable early childhood education, and the status of workers in the sector.Georgie Dent has been at the forefront of these campaigns.Georgie is Executive Director at The Parenthood, and has been central to the campaign for change.She joins us on this week's podcast. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How as your weekend? I hope it was cracking good fun!Did you know that not too long ago the idea of 'the weekend' didn't exist? Two days off in succession for workers to enjoy leisure time was unthinkable for generations of workers.Our historian, Dr. Liam Byrne is once again our guest on the pod. He's here to tell us the history of how Unions and workers created the weekend._____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Tuesday night, treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the first Labor budget in nine years. For workers and Unions, it was an evening of milestones.As the Treasurer outlined his Budget, the inclusion of 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave and a significant revamp of paid parental leave represented huge victories for a series of long running Union campaigns.Michele O'Neil is the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). She joins us on the pod after a landmark week in Canberra. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gender pay gap remains unacceptably and woefully high.Across Australia, it remains a fact that women on average earn around 14% less than their male counterparts.In the ACT though, there's an example of how you can not only close the gap - but end it.Maddy Northam is The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) ACT Regional Secretary. She joins us to tell us how it was achieved. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly  Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Job turns 100 this week! Yep, it's our 100th episode, and I want to thank you for being part of the journey. This week, we do a bit of California dreaming, and meet one of the heroes of Cali's fast-food workers movement. California has just passed its most significant labour rights act on decades, AB257, which raises the hourly wage to $22 an hour and guarantees worker representation on a new board that will oversee wages and conditions in the industry.Ingrid Vilorio has been a Jack in the Box worker for 2 years, is married, and has a son with special needs. During the pandemic she got Covid-19 at work and passed the virus to her special needs son. She was forced to quarantine and miss work. Ingrid was denied Covid pay and told by her supervisor that she did not qualify for sick pay and had to go on strike to win sick pay that she was entitled to under California law. She joined the Fight for $15 and a Union because she was tired of verbal harassment from her supervisor, wage theft and unsafe working conditions during the Covid pandemic. She continues to be an active leader, advocating for a voice on the job, most recently through the passage of AB 257.Ingrid is our special guest on this week's pod._____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly  Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many workers, recent climactic events like bushfires and floods have not only caused huge disruption in their personal lives, they've caused chaos in their working lives as well.In response, workers at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) have taken the lead on this issue.They've just negotiated something called Climate Disaster Leave.Grace Vegesana is a Climate & Racial Justice Campaigner with AYCC and she's our guest on this week's pod.AYCC - https://www.aycc.org.au/Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Great Britain is facing an economic crisis and a grim winter as the Tory government, under new Prime Minister Liz Truss, cuts taxes for the wealthy as ordinary people struggle to heat their homes and put food on the table.This latest trickledown, meltdown has sunk the British pound, and workers and trade Unions are once again readying to take on the Conservative government that has all but abandoned working people.Britain saw a wave of industrial action across all sectors as it sweltered through summer, and it's likely to see plenty more as workers and unions say enough is enough.Our guest this week is Kevin Rowan. Kevin is Head of Organising, Services and Learning with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Great Britain.Kevin talks with us about how there's still power in a Union! _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly  Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As another AFL season reaches its crescendo, it's an opportunity to reflect on how the Australian game has become such an extraordinary cultural phenomenon.The game, which emerged out of the paddocks and fields of mid 19th Century Melbourne, has had many versions of its origin story told. One part of its history that is often overlooked is the role that organised workers and their unions had in the success of footy as a spectator sport.Dr. Tony Ward is a historian based at Melbourne University who has researched this part of Aussie Rules history. He joins us for the opening bounce on this week's edition of "On the Job". Read Dr Tony Ward's Aussie Rules rules thanks to the eight-hour working day_____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly  Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions of Australian workers know what it's like to shiver through a winter in a rental property that is too cold, without enough heating, or is drafty or damp.It impacts your wellbeing, mental health and can actually make you sick.The last thing people on low wages and in insecure work need in their lives is to miss work because they're ill.Better Renting is an organisation that campaigns to improve the quality of rental properties to ensure renters getter a better deal and stay healthy.Their recent survey revealed that the vast majority of renters in Australia are living in housing that could be making them sick.Joel Dignam is the Executive Director of Better Renting. He is our guest. We also hear from ACTU Assistant Secretary, Liam O'Brien, on why substandard housing is a work and safety issue as well._____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, Qantas was an institution that inspired a form of civic pride in most Australians.It was an airline with an impeccable safety record, a reputation for excellence in service, as well as being a great place to work.In 2022, Qantas' stellar reputation is in tatters, replaced by a long list of grievances - delayed and cancelled flights, lost baggage and safety concerns.At the heart of this has been CEO Alan Joyce's relentless job stripping, cost cutting and a union busting crusade that has made Qantas a pariah.Last week, ABC TV's "4 Corners" did an investigation into the goings on at Qantas. What it found was a company at war with its workforce and struggling to deliver for its customers.Michael Kaine, National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) is our guest on the pod this week, to discuss Qantas - the wounded kangaroo. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFrankly Support the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians love to talk about how we need to give our children the best possible start in life.Yet when it comes to providing those kids with accessible, affordable, early childhood education, things get sketchy.And it really falls away when we examine the pay, conditions, and career prospects of the people entrusted with educating children at that crucial early stage of their lives - early childhood educators.These educators are grossly underpaid and equally undervalued. They love their work and the children they nurture, but as our guest on the pod today tells us - you can't pay the bills with love.Early Childhood Educators have had enough. This week across Australia, they are taking industrial action to highlight their plight.We're joined by Helen Gibbons, Executive Director - Early Education, with The United Workers Union, and Talie Mengell an early childhood educator who has been working in the field for 20 years. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For generations of young Australians, our first job experience has often been in the world of fast food retail.Working hard at slinging burgers or working the register as someone grabs a feed on the run is often where we learn about the reality of the world of work.The good, the bad and the ugly.What is still all too common are stories of young people in those jobs being underpaid or exploited by unscrupulous employers.McDonalds is one of the largest employers of young Aussies in the fast food business. It's also one of the businesses unions are calling out for bad behaviour.The burger giant is currently the subject of $250 million law case brought by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) which is seeking compensation on behalf of more than 250,000 current and former McDonald's workers across Australia over alleged denial of paid breaks to workers.Grace Becker is one young worker who had to work without breaks for Maccas. Gerard Dwyer is the National Secretary of the SDA.Both are our guests on this week's podcast. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The promise of the Australian Dream is that you should be able to work one decent, secure job and earn enough pay to put a roof over your head, support your family and thrive.That all seems like a pipe dream in the current climate, where insecure work, no entitlements, climbing inflation and a housing squeeze means that hard working Australians are driven to the margins.Many of them are turning to organisations like Foodbank to help them make ends meet.Foodbank is Australia’s largest food relief organisation, operating on a scale that makes it crucial to the work of the front line charities who are feeding vulnerable Australians. Foodbank provides more than 70% of the food rescued for food relief organisations nation-wide.Matt Tilley is acting of CEO at Foodbank in Victoria. He is our guest on this week's pod. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the host Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese's Labor government is hosting a Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra in early September where the problems and the inequality inherent in Australia's economy will be front and centre.Australian Unions will be there, arguing that it's high time that working people are put at the centre of every decision that effects the economy.To underline that, the ACTU has just released a new paper entitled "An economy that works for people."We speak with the author of the paper, Dr Jim Stanford.Also, aged care workers are one step closer to the significant pay rise they deserve and desperately need after the federal government supported a significant wage rise in its submission to the Fair Work Commission last week.Lloyd Williams is the Secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU), he joins us this week on the pod. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast   Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466   About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.