Maintaining the Rage

Jane has written a new article for the Australian Unions’ Working Life blog. (Originally at http://workinglife.org.au/2014/10/08/maintaining-the-rage-long-into-retirement/)

“I QUICKLY learned that after retirement there is a whole new world for a committed trade unionist and there is much for us to do.

It is not hard to feel concern for our old work colleagues or for the next generation of workers confronted everyday by the outrageous excesses of the Abbott Government.

Retirement has also made me look at all the other hard earned rights and privileges that the union movement has won for our society.

I am thinking of superannuation, the aged pension, Medicare: all of which provide me and other retirees with a comfortable retirement.”

Unionism’s retired ranks dust off their cards

[Source: Noel Towell, canberratimes.com.au/act-news/unionisms-retired-ranks-dust-off-their-cards-20140214-32rog.html, February 15, 2014]

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Their days as union firebrands might be long behind them, but a group of Canberra’s retired workplace activists reckons the flames never really go out.

Hundreds of retired union members from around the capital are answering the call to arms from Vintage Reds, a new group set up to try to unleash the untapped grey potential of the Australian union movement. Continue reading