In late August, over two hundred workers at Prysmian Cables in Sydney went on indefinite strike. In addition to demanding job security, they were taking a stand to ensure hard-won union conditions would apply to any new plant their employer opened up. After only two days, the strike won. Then, in September, over one thousand workers across two Inghams Chicken plants — one in Adelaide and the other in Perth — walked out for five days in solidarity with each other. As a result of their action, they won an average additional pay raise of $100 per week.

Just a month later, Victorian dairy workers pulled off the largest strike in living memory as 1,400 workers across thirteen dairy factories run by four major employers walked off the job for two days. After resolving to organize another walk-off — this time indefinite — the workers won significantly improved wage offers, shift allowances and job security provisions. Perhaps most importantly in a time of ongoing climate disasters, they also won the right to paid emergency services leave, meaning that when bushfires or other disasters occur, they will be able to stop work and volunteer to protect their mainly regional communities.

Taken together, these and other actions signal a growing willingness among many Australian workers to take collective and direct action to secure better lives for themselves and their families.