The week's best education and union reads
QLD teachers jump COVID vaccine queue
From kidspot.com.au, 9 August 2021
Teachers join childcare workers, FIFO workers and freight and distribution centre workers on the new list of priority citizens.
Vaccinate hotspots, says AMA
From The Age, 7 August 2021
New polling shows that most people believe there is an urgent need to give teachers access to vaccines to reduce the risk of the virus spreading in school communities.
Fair Work Commission shoots down McCain’s shabby treatment of Tasmanian workers
From actu.org.au, 6 August 2021
The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that McCain’s repeated lockout of workers at its plant in Smithton Tasmania was unlawful. This is an important legal and moral victory for McCain’s loyal and dedicated Tasmanian workforce.
Childhood education at crisis point again
From Women's Agenda, 6 August 2021
Georgie Dent says the Federal government must step in now to ensure that early childhood education and care in Australia does not fall apart.
Masks in the classroom: Best practice for teachers
From theeducatoronline.com
An expert reveals tricks of the trade to make safer classrooms work for teacher and student.
How Delta changed the risk of COVID transmission in schools
From ABC News, 9 August 2021
Delta's greater transmissibility is affecting younger people - and therefore teachers and the community - much more than experts "possibly could have predicted".
Children miss valuable ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ learning moments during remote schooling
From The Conversation, 10 August 2021
Teachers make deliberate decisions in the moment, based on their observations of students’ progress, whether to speak with the students and what to say.
‘The Gig Is Up’ Review: The perils of platform work
From Variety, 24 April 2021
This "fresh-faced and accessible" documentary, now showing at the Melbourne International Film Festival, highlights the "everyday cruelty and dehumanization of the gig economy" and the ever-expanding system of global capitalist exploitation.
Casual workers denied access to paid leave
From Megaphone Journal, 6 August 2021
How federal legislation and a High Court decision threaten to entrench insecure work for millions of Australians.
Centrelink orders JobKeeper recipients to pay back $32m, while profitable businesses allowed to keep funds
From The Guardian Australia, 10 August 2021
The Federal Government is accused of double standards after issuing 11,771 welfare recipients with debt notices due to the pandemic wage subsidy.
The program closing Australia's digital divide
From ABC News, 10 August 2021
A Smith Family remote learning initiative organised tutors for literacy and numeracy, with encouraging results.
How Australia won universal health care – and how workers saved it with a general strike
From Jacobin magazine, 7 August 2021
Despite its flaws, Medibank was a huge step forward – and Australia’s unions organised a general strike to defend it against conservative attacks.