August 2008
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT
9am – 1pm Friday 1 August
The South Coast Labour Council (SCLC) invites you to the Illawarra Community Infrastructure Summit to be held on 1 August 2008 at the Wollongong City Council Building between 9am-1pm.
As you would be aware there has been significant community discussion regarding these issues and this will be a good opportunity to have an open community conversation and will hopefully contribute to the process of identifying our regions key infrastructure needs.
Please RSVP by 25th July on 42 292888 or mail@sclc.com.au
OUR UNIVERSITIES MATTER CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
12:30pm Tuesday 5 August
As part of the NTEU’s national campaign, the local branch is hosting a public forum titled ‘Our Universities Matter – Why Regional Communities Need Strong Universities’ on the Duckpond Lawn from 12:30pm Tuesday 5 August.
Guest speakers include Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President and Professor Gerard Sutton, Vice Chancellor University of Wollongong.
All members of the campus community are invited.
APHEDA SOUTH COAST DINNER
6:30pm Saturday 9 August
The South Coast APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad Annual Fundraising Dinner is on at 6:30pm Saturday 9 August at the Thirroul Railway Institute. This year money raised will assist a community in the Phillipines. The project aims to improve safety conditions for people whose livelihood is made from scavenging on Manila’s garbage dumps. Union Aid Abroad’s partner in the Philippines says that a whole family of parents and children can work all day to earn only $1.50 a day for the material they gather and sell to recyclers. The money raised from the APHEDA Dinner will fund the building of a childcare centre out of recycled materials and would enable 30-40 of the youngest children to attend a pre-school in a more hygienic situation with a clean wooden floor rather than working on the dump. It would also enable our project partner to do more training in hygiene for parents and medical testing for children.
Tickets @ $40 each RSVP by 26 July to Liz or Pat on: 42280314 or 0412250399.
GENERAL MEETING OF MEMBERS
12:30pm Thursday 14 August
In May of this year your Union served a log of claims on the University management in preparation for bargaining your next Collective Agreement. In late July the Vice-Chancellor responded.
To find out the response of the Vice-Chancellor and be involved in developing the next step of the Union campaign attend a general meeting of members at 12.30pm Thursday 14 August in room 20.5.
WOMEN AND FINANCIAL ADVICE
12:30pm AND 5:30pm Tuesday 26 August
Members Equity have developed a short session aimed at women called ‘Financial Wellbeing: A Whole of Career Approach’. The workshop looks at the reasons why women have traditionally have had less control of their finances and explores the strategies behind how ‘we can break this mould’.
Two sessions will be held in Wollongong on Tuesday 26 August:
12:30pm Room 40.123 – specifically for NTEU women
5:30pm Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Kenny St Wollongong for all union women.
RSVPs are essential.
SCREENING OF CONSTRUCTING FEAR
12:30pm Thursday 28 August
The Rudd Government has refused to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission until 2010. The ABCC has powers to interrogate workers in relation to suspected union activity such as organising industrial action – even stopping work over safety. The ABCC’s interrogation powers are wide, and can be conducted in secret with interviewees having no right to silence or ability to choose their own lawyer. Through the BCII Act and the ABCC, the building and construction union was singled out – as was the higher education industry – for harsher industrial relations regulation than the rest of our economy.
There will an event held at 12:30pm Thursday 28 August in room 20.4 where we will screen the short film Constructing Fear and hear from Andrew Frazer from the Faculty of Law, Arthur Rorris from the SCLC and members of the CFMEU.
LUNCH AND LEARN SERIES - CASUALS
12:30pm Friday 29 August
This year NTEU will be negotiating for a new Collective Agreement. Your local Branch will be holding a series of short sessions aimed at assisting members to understand particular claims. The first of these ‘Lunch and Learn Series’ is focused on the claim for casual and sessional staff and will be held at 12:30pm Friday 29 August in Building 115, WUPA. All casuals whether union members or not are invited to attend. RSVPs are essential as a light lunch will be served.