If you are a teacher or student, whether at a school, TAFE, University, Community Service or VCAL programme, we can arrange a guest speaker to come out and give a talk on rights at work, unions, safety at work, young workers issues, contracts and conditions and entitlements. Our trained speakers can answer questions and provide information relevant to young workers. Guest speakers are free of charge, though donations to YUN are appreciated.

To address the numerous requests for speakers around union issues, the Young Unionists Network established ‘The Clara Weekes Project’. This project aims to increase young people’s activism and awareness of Trade Unions and their rights as workers.

‘The Clara Weekes Project’ involves trained speakers who are available to give presentations to students at educational institutions. These guest speakers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and represent a wide age bracket. They are able to speak on a variety of topics including:

• What is a Union?
• The History of Trade Unionism.
• Young People’s Rights at Work.
• Occupational Health and Safety.

Young workers are often misinformed or do not have access to reliable information about their rights at work and the role of unions in society. ‘The Clara Weekes Project’ helps to address this and is complimentary to Secondary teaching curriculum and would also be beneficial in selected post secondary courses. The renewal and relevance of Trade Unions today is dependent upon attracting and involving young people both as young activists and as the future of the Trade Union Movement. Education and the dissemination of information about unionism are integral in ensuring the continuing vitality of the Victorian Trade Union movement.

Who Was Clara Weekes?

Born in 1855 in England, one of 10 children, Clara moved to Australia in 1858 with her parents. Her father died in 1869 and her mother was left to raise six children under the age of fourteen. The financial maintenance of the family fell on the four sisters Lucy, Alice, Clara and Edith who all became teachers.

Clara taught at Walhalla with two of her sisters until 1875. When she was 23 she transferred to Glen Maggie State School where she was appointed Head Teacher she remained there for seven years whilst she gained her Teaching Certificate and passed science.

By 1890 Clara joined her sister Alice in the city when she transferred to a number of city schools namely North Melbourne, Toorak Central, Armadale, and Collingwood State Schools finally settling at Prahran as First Female Assistant from 1895 until 1907. From 1907 until she retired from classroom teaching in 1913 she was First Female Assistant at Carlton State School, Rathdowne Street.

Clara was involved in the Victorian Lady Teachers’ Association (VLTA) as Secretary and President over a period of more than 20 years and worked to improve the working conditions of women teachers. The VLTA was started in 1885. In 1884 the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society, the first women’s suffrage organisation was started which Clara joined, and in 1885 the Women’s Temperance Union also began. She commented upon women teachers’ lack of promotion opportunities in 1900, as a witness to the Royal Commission hearings into Technical Education in Victoria. Clara joined other women’s organisations such as the Woman’s Political Association and spoke out at a conference in 1919 against the White Australia Policy. She worked with hundreds of other women to gain women the right to vote in Victoria she also worked with others including Vida Goldstein to agitate for equal pay for women workers.

Clara retired from teaching at the age of 61 and she had spent 42 years of her life in the classroom. She passed away in 1937 aged 82.

The Clara Weekes Project recognises the achievements of Clara for women educators, students, and promotion of union values and activism during her time in the education system.

The Young Unionists Network was established five years ago because unions aren’t just for tuff old blokes. In fact, young people are most commonly the target of exploitation. Shift work, long hours without overtime, unpaid (illegal) “trial periods”, even dangerous working conditions: these are some of the issues young worker face and all too often accept.

That’s why we invited people to apply for our Union Summer three week internship programme - so you can learn how to fight back! Union Summer gives people committed to social justice and workers rights the opportunity to get involved in an educational internship working in trade unions with organisers and union activists. We aim to bring unions together with young workers, students and activists and give them the opportunity to get active in organising campaigns that address these issues - through an internship. If you think that you, your friends and your family deserve a fair go at work then get involved! 

Applications are now open for Union Summer 2010.  The programme will run from the end of January through to mid February.  Stay tuned for exact dates.

Aims of Union Summer:

• To encourage interns to become activists in their workplaces and/or university/TAFE.
• To expose and educate interns about the trade union movement through participation in union campaigns and projects.
• To develop support for unionism with young activists who have traditionally fallen outside the union movement.
• To support union organised campaigns in strategic sites and industries.

Contact us to find out more or to get an application form

 

 

YUN recommends you check out The New International Bookshop at Trades Hall for all your political reading needs!

 

The New International Bookshop (NIBS) is located on the first floor of the Trades Hall building on the corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets, Melbourne (Victoria Street entrance).

NIBS is a co-operative which comprises a bookshop & coffee shop. The Bookshop sells books (new & secondhand), newspapers, journals, cards, posters, t-shirts, cds, and videos expressing left-wing, radical, progressive and alternative viewpoints from around the world.

We attempt to stock items that are not readily available in bookshops in Australia, and/or that are from small, progressive publishers in Australia and overseas.

Phone:

Within Australia: 03 9662 3744
Outside Australia: +61 3 9662 3744

Fax:

Within Australia: 03 9662 4755
Outside Australia: +61 3 9662 4755

Mail:

New International Bookshop Co-operative
Box 18
Trades Hall
Carlton South, Victoria 3053
Australia
The book shop is closed Sundays and Mondays and opens
12 midday on other days

Where we are!

The New International Bookshop is located on the first floor of historic Trades Hall, on the corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets, Carlton South, Victoria, 3053 Australia.

Your rights at work are not just worth fighting for, they are worth voting for! If you don’t like the way the government has attacked young workers rights and stripped away entitlements, then make sure you are enrolled to have your say on election day.

Though you must be 18 to vote, did you know that you can enrol once you turn 17?

The electoral laws have changed recently. The changes mean that thousands of eligible voters may not be able to vote unless you enrol NOW. The election rolls will be closed to new enrolments 24 hours after the next federal election is called. This means that if you are at school, work or otherwise unable to get yourself enrolled, of if you simply are not aware that an election has been called — you’ll miss out. First time voters used to have two weeks to enrol after the announcement of an election date. John Howard has taken away this right, so make sure you still get your say.

Enrol to vote TODAY!

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In November 2006, YUN held a series of 6 gigs across 5 nights called ROCK FOR YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK. It was a great opportunity to see some great bands (some of whom travelled from interstate to support us), have a chat about issues that are important to young workers, and raise a bit of $ for the campaign. We’d love to plan more events like this, but we need your help. If you have skills or experience in an area like this, or in fact any ideas at all for fundraising and campaigns, get in touch today — because your rights at work are worth fighting for!