Recording of a plenary session from Virtual Progress 2020.
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About the talk
This video contains 2 other presentations. The timings for each talk are:
- Organising in this Moment – 0 mins – 13.20 mins
- The Future of Workers’ Rights – 30.20 mins – 51.04 mins
- Lessons from the Disability Justice Movement – 52 mins – 1: 40 mins
Michele O’Neil, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), shared behind-the-scenes lessons from the campaign to secure JobKeeper in response to widespread job losses as the pandemic took hold in March. Learn why sustained, cross-sector organising was pivotal in securing the win, and hear the ACTU’s ambitious plan to shift power back into the hands of workers as we emerge from lockdown.
About the speaker
MICHELE O’NEIL
President, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)
Before being elected as ACTU President, Michele was CFMEU Vice President and the National Secretary of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA). Michele represented workers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry for 28 years and held a variety of positions in the trade union movement in Australia and globally. Michele has led campaigns to win world leading rights for workers throughout clothing supply chains including for homebased outworkers and has been a long-term campaigner for the rights of the low paid, women, migrant workers, and asylum seekers.
About Virtual Progress 2020
Australian Progress held Virtual Progress 2020 on June 23-24. It was a rapid response online conference to respond to the intersecting crises of the pandemic, racial injustice, rising inequality and the climate crisis. The conference included 1,600 participants, 225 speakers from 13 countries, 5,000+ live chat messages and more than 60 sessions exploring everything from First Nations self-determination to racial justice, disability justice, health, economic fairness, the climate crisis and so much more.
See the Australian Progress collection on the Commons Library for materials from Virtual Progress 2020 and past events. To see what’s coming up in terms of training and events visit the Australian Progress site.