Invasion Day and Aboriginal Worker Rights

Stick Together

January 26. Australia Day. Invasion It marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, in New South Wales, the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip, the invasion of Australia and the start of genocide against the original owners of this land. January 26 is a day of mourning and a day of struggle, marked by big, loud, powerful Invasion Day rallies right across the country. But the struggle for Aboriginal justice also extends to justice at work, and one of the industries where these issues come to the fore, is in higher education. Universities have amongst the highest rates of Aboriginal employment, but it’s also a sector that is so exploitative of workers’ intellectual property. Arrende woman, Celeste Liddle, is the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Organiser for the NTEU and we had a long chat about the sector and Aboriginal worker rights.