Webinars

Wage Theft in South Australia is an epidemic.

The McKell Institute estimates that wage theft is costing South Australian workers $500 million a year. The Working Women’s Centre SA recovered over $500,000 for workers in just one financial year. While this is a great achievement, it is only a fraction of what is owed to hard working South Australians.

We know, more than most, that wage theft is hitting women and migrant workers the hardest. Wage theft extends to the non-payment of base wages, penalty rates, superannuation, loadings, and the non-payment of entitlements that workers should be receiving by law. In some sectors of the economy, wage theft has transitioned from a fringe activity to a business model.

This is an issue for workers and the government. In fact, the South Australian Parliamentary Wage Theft Interim Report confirms what we already knew: wage theft is rife in South Australia and it affects the most vulnerable workers in our community.

We gave evidence to the Wage Theft Inquiry about one of our clients who was only paid $14 an hour. How can you live on $14 an hour? You can’t. It isn’t a living wage. In response to the Interim Report, we are holding a community discussion about the prevalence of wage theft to kick start South Australia’s response to this issue.

There are big questions at hand:

• Should we follow Victoria’s lead and criminalise wage theft?
• Is our industrial system is too complex?
• How does wage theft impact on working women? And is this impact due to a common business model?
• What are trade unions doing about this issue? And how do we campaign for a living wage?

We are thrilled to host Irene Pnevmatikos MLC, Edward Cavanough from the McKell Institute and Angas Story from SA Unions to tackle those issues and more.

Your Rights at Work

Webinar for International Students Working In Australia 

Presented in collaboration with the National Union of Students Welfare Department, (FUSA Flinders University Student Association, USASA UniSA Student Association, Adelaide University Student Representative Council, Adelaide Young Christian Workers – YCW & The Young Workers Legal Service.

This webinar is designed for international students studying in Australia, providing them with skills and resources to better equip them to assert their rights in the workplace and to fight exploitation.

We recognise that many international students are working casually, often well below the minimum wage and can be at greater risk of exploitation by their employer. We also know that as the South Australian economy opens up, there will be greater competition for jobs and employers trying to cut corners.
Our team of experts will leave you with a better understanding of the Australian workplace laws and some ideas about how to address unfair treatment in your own workplace.
The webinar will help answer some of your questions such as:
❓ What are my basic workplace entitlements?
❓ What should I expect from my employer?
❓ I am being underpaid, what do I do?
❓ What rules does my employer have to follow? What about me?
❓ Where can I get more information?
❓ I have been working more than 20 hours a week, can I still complain?
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This powerpoint presentation and training session was created on 30 June 2020. Please take this into account where you are relying on this information on another date. We will try to update this page with relevant changes and reforms but we may not be able to do this on every occasion.

 

Download the PDF of the 'Your rights at work' presentation
Download the template for a letter of demand

Working from Home: Risks & Rewards Webinar.
An online panel conversation about gender and labour, while working from & in the home.

Featuring Panelists:

🔹 Alison Pennington – Senior Economist for the Centre for Future Work

🔹The Hon Michelle Lensink MLC – Minster for Human services in South Australia

🔹Professor Suzanne Franzway – Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies University of South Australia

🔹Maria Hagias – Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Safety Services SA

MC – Abbey Kendall – Director of The Working Women’s Centre SA Inc.

There have been many claims that Working from Home (WFH) will spearhead a feminist revolution, likening the change in our work environment to the structural changes we saw for working women during and after WW1.
These sorts of claims elicit many questions;
🔸Is this a positive change?
🔸Does WFH finally give women the flexibility we have been fighting for?
🔸How do we navigate WFH when our own home is not safe?
🔸What about work, health and safety? What about the costs of running a home office?
🔸Will WFH be optional in the future? Should it be? Will more time in the home, increase our care work?
🔸What types of workers get to WFH? Do you have to let your employer into your home? Will work hours increase? What on earth are we doing about childcare?

There are no simple answers, and as always it depends; not every person has the opportunity to WFH or experiences WFH equally. Can we re-imagine work, so that is works for us?

The impact of COVID19 on young women has been devastating.
The pandemic has hit every aspect of our lives:
  • Financially, through job losses or reduced hours
  • Insecurity in current employment & long term career trajectory
  • Safety risks of exposure to COVID and risk of DV & sexual violence
  • An increased risk of homelessness
  • The toll on our Mental Health
When it comes to getting work, young women are in a worse position than any other age and gender demographic.
So it’s important to question: are our needs reflected in COVID recovery policies?
In this seminar, we will discuss the impacts of COVID19 on young women, what needs to happen to stop us from being left behind, and how to turn our anger into action.
Several powerful young women will join us to share their thoughts and experiences.
Speakers:
•Alison Pennington, Senior Economist at the Centre for Future Work
•Siew Tang Woon, 485 working visa worker at the Adelaide Casino
•Claudia Ienco, casual worker and part of Anti-Poverty Network SA
• Jamila Ahmadi of the Australian Migrant Resource Centre
• Kate McAuley, primary school teacher

Reclaim the Workplace

Ending sexual harassment in our places of work and study. 

October is sexual violence awareness month, and Reclaim the Night is a march that is traditionally held on the last Friday of October, to reclaim the streets so that women can walk at night without fear.
This October, we gathered online to talk about reclaiming the workplace by ending sexual violence and harassment. We were joined by a panel of expert speakers to discuss what sexual harassment looks like, the extent of the problem in Australia, and what we can do to end sexual violence and harassment in our places of work and study.
Speakers:
  • Kate Jenkins, Sex Discrimination Commissioner
  • The Hon Connie Bonaros MLC, SA Best
  • Rebecca Etienne , Adelaide University SRC Women’s Officer
  • Erin Hennessy, CEPU Organiser

Artwork by Cath Story. Find her art on Instagram @cathstorydraws

This webinar was streamed on Kaurna land. We pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the land, past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.