
On The Job
The way we work, how work is changing, how it used to be and what it might look like in the future.
It’s about who we work with, and who we work for.
It’s a discussion about the conditions in which we work and the demands of a job.
It’s talking about how it can be the best thing in our lives and also the worst.
Work can give us meaning and satisfaction, it can be the most challenging thing we’ve ever done and the most soul destroying days of our lives.
And that can all be in the same week!
Above all, we want to talk about work in a way that helps make work better for everyonewho listens.Authorised by Sally McManus, Australian Council of Trade Unions, Melbourne.
Latest episodes

Apr 18, 2022 • 17min
Young workers matter too..
As the federal election campaign lurches into gear, there is one group of Australians who are routinely forgotten about in the conversation - young workers.Younger Australians have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. They've had their schooling and studies disrupted, their working lives upended, and their prospects for the future imperilled.Felicity Sowerbutts from The Young Workers Centre joins us to discuss what's at stake for young workers.Young Workers Centre - https://www.youngworkers.org.au/ _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 10, 2022 • 27min
Reporting the war in Ukraine
Tom Mutch is a freelance journalist who has spent the last few years covering conflict and war around the globe. He was in Ukraine as war broke out following the Russian invasion.Like many journalists who cover war zones, his experiences and reportage play a vital role on countering the propaganda and lies that make up the other front in this conflict - the information war.Increasingly, reporters are being targeted by combatants in war zones and a number of journalists have been killed in Ukraine whilst doing their important work.Tom took some time out from his recovery time whilst he was recuperating in Warsaw, Poland, before he went back to Ukraine to continue his work.He is our guest on this week's edition of "On the Job". _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 3, 2022 • 25min
Morrison's Busted Budget
With an election looming, this year's federal budget is a crucial one for working Australians who are hurting as they struggle with the sky rocketing coat of living and flatlining wages.Ben Davison, co-host with Van Badham of the fab podcast "The Week on Wednesday" joins Francis for a conversation about Morrison's budget and want it means for you. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 27, 2022 • 20min
Budget 2022 with Michele O'Neil
It's Budget time and it's never been more important for working Australians that they are at the top of the government's list of priorities.With flatlining wages, the rising cost of living pressures, and an uneven economic recovery from the pandemic, this budget is set to make or break many working families.ACTU President Michele O'Neil joins us this week to discuss what workers need from this year's budget. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 20, 2022 • 35min
Economics for workers
Often, when commentators and journalists talk about the economy, they discuss it as though workers - the people that drive all economics - don't matter. We here at 'On the Job' know that's daft. An economy without workers is nothing. That's what this weeks' podcast is all about. We're joined in discussion by the Director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, Dr. Jim Stanford, Dr. Fiona Macdonald, Policy Director, Social and Industrial with the Centre for Future Work, and Dr. Mark Dean, the Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow at the Carmichael Centre, to talk about economics for workers. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 13, 2022 • 17min
Everything about superannuation you wanted to know but where afraid to ask..
We talk a lot about Super on the pod. What we haven't done a good job of so far is explaining what the hell it actually is!That's where Peter Treseder comes in. He's an educator with one of our biggest industry funds, Australian Super. Peter is here to give us all a crash course in what Super is and why it makes good sense to get yours sorted. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 6, 2022 • 35min
Slaying the Inflation myth
Inflation - it's like disco and scratch and sniff t-shirts (look it up, people) - so very 1970s!Strangely, its making a comeback as our economy struggles to recover from the pandemic and Scott Morrison's government overheats the housing market.So, what is inflation? Why is it a threat to the well being of workers? And what's this nonsense about wages causing inflation and workers asking for a pay rise being the problem?Economist and journalist Greg Jericho ( The Guardian and the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute) joins us on the pod to slay a few inflationary myths. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 27, 2022 • 41min
Getting smart about early childhood education
For a brief period in 2020 at the height of the first COVID 19 outbreak, families around Australia experienced something remarkable - free early childhood education and child care. For many, it was the circuit breaker they needed to navigate treacherous financial challenges and other pressures that put families under stress.As we head towards a federal election, the campaign to see the provision of free early childhood education in Australia is ramping up.Georgie Dent is Executive Director of The Parenthood, an advocacy organisation that represents over 72,000 parents, carers and allies around Australia.Georgie joins Francis and Sally on this weeks pod. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 20, 2022 • 36min
Workers, the election, and does politics still matter? - Lech Blane.
Unless you've been living in a Netflix bubble or under a rock, you might have noticed that the election campaign is on in earnest, as Scott Morrison tries desperately to save his government.For most working Australians, politics is, well, a pain in the arse.Do they care if Scott Morrison is a liar or can't hold a hose? Or are they simply more concerned about whether they'll have a decent job they can rely on and build a life with?Academic and writer Lech Blane returns to the pod to discuss all this. Lech wrote a superb Quarterly Essay in 2021 called "Top Blokes" that looked at the shifting sands of Australian political culture and whether workers think about politics the same way political junkies like you and I (well if you've read this far, you qualify!), do. _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 13, 2022 • 24min
When Sally met Tassie
On this week's episode, we try and help Sally settle into her new surrounds in Hobart, Tasmania.And what better way to do it than to introduce her to some good Union peeps? Jess Munday heads up Unions Tasmania. She knows everything there is to know about working life in Tassie and how it is changing.She also gives Sally some sage advice on which beers to drink in Hobart and Launceston, something that is vital to know for your Tassie cred! _____________________________________________________________ * You can now email us with your comments, story ideas, tip-offs, flip offs, and questions - otjpodcast@protonmail.com *On the Job is made by Australian Unions. More about On The Job podcast Need help with working conditions? Call Australian Union Support Centre - 1300 486 466 About the hosts Sally Rugg - @sallyrugg Francis Leach, ACTU - @SaintFranklySupport the show: https://www.onthejobpodcast.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.