
Issue No 84		16 February 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Transport Passes Key Issue for Young Workers

Young apprentices and trainees in Sydney's west and rural NSW are spending large chunks of their income on transport costs because the government won't give them access to concession cards, unions have been told.

Kristy Delaney from the Youth Action Policy Association told the Labor Council's organising seminar that the issue of transport costs is hitting young blue collar workers in some of the state's most depressed areas.

Delaney says that while workers on public transport routes get subsidised travel, those using private buses - concentrated in the West and the bush - do not get government assistance./

"We have workers on an $160 per week income is spending $50 on transport," she says. "Some are saying it's not worth keeping the job."

YAPA has commenced a postcard campaign on the issue to NSW Transport Minister Carl Scully and has urged trade unions to begin organising around the issue.

Delaney says other key issues are that workers are not aware of their rights, they're too afraid to complain and don't know who to complain to.

She was one of a range of speakers who offered their perspectives on emerging workplace issues at the seminar.

Young Workers Paint Life in the Workplace

Workers from the construction, retail and IT sectors told the seminar how working life was often hard, brutish and short in the modern workplace.

Building worker Connor O'Gorman says that without a family history in the trade union movement, he would be like most young workers and totally ignorant of his rights.

Big W worker Maria Cavralis told of how organising from the SDA had changed the balance of power at her work and helped workers win more than $5,000 in back pay.

And long-time call centre worker Marios Elles, now an organiser with the Australian Services Union, said that when he first got fired from a job, he didn';t even know he had legal recourse.

All three spoke of how working with the union and other workers had changed the dynamic of the workplace and given them a chance to be heard.

Listen, Don't Talk - And Don't Try to Be Hip

JJJ morning show producer Steve Cannane offered the following advice to people trying to organise young workers: don't try to be hip.

"It's a bit like telling a Gen X how good Woodstock was". Also out is Marxist rhetoric, which is outdated. His advice? "Instead of talking, try listening - it's one thing that very few people do to them."

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 84 contents

Interview: Life After Wartime
After ten years representing the interests of the labour movement in Parliament, Jeff Shaw is back at the bar. And loving it.

Legal: Why the Freeloaders Should Pay
Michael Costa explains why service fees are not only fair - they are economically rational.

Organising: Young Activists Bask in Union Summer
Sydney students have spent three weeks of their summer holidays experiencing on-the-ground work with unions.

Unions: Things Are Looking Up On The Dock
After six years as a call centre worker, Marios Ellas has joined the union movement. Here's his first impressions.

History: Trades Hall ï¿½ The Royal Connection
Republic, who needs it when we have the Trades Hall decreed by Royal Imprimatur? So tug your forelock as work commences to restore the building.

International: Greetings from Hong Kong
Chan Wai-Keung from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions outlined the challenges facing Hong Kong workers.

Politics: One Nation - The Old Labor Link
The resurgence in One Nation in the WA election has the pundits again reaching for the tea-leaves. But are they pouring from the wrong pot?

Review: Elect the Ambassador
Labor frontbencher Duncan Kerr unveils his vision for a new international democracy.

Satire: Man Buys Big Issue for the Articles
A Melbourne businessman claims his recent purchase of the "Big Issue" was due to his interest in the magazine's editorial content.

» Young Workers: The Wage Gypsies

» Union Members Tell Scabs: Sing for Your Supper

» Genetic Advances Spark New Privacy Issues

» Wentworth Twenty Emerge Victorious

» Racing Radio Makes Way for Workersï¿½ Voice

» Another Major Centre Takes Union Call

» Transport Passes Key Issue for Young Workers

» Shier Calls the Cops! - Fear and Loathing at the ABC

» BHP Contracts Battle Goes Back to the Coalface

» Newcastle Mill to be Union Project

» Government Must Lead on Casual Leave

» Della Ends Discrimination on Leave Entitlements

» Rural Safety Campaign Pays Off

» Mom Always Said ï¿½ Donï¿½t Break a Picket