By Zahrah Ahmad
Photo by: Zahrah Amrad
Trade workers, students and families took to the streets of Melbourne on April 10 to protest for an increase in wages and penalty rates.
The demonstration shut down multiple streets as the protestors made their way from the union Town Hall in Carlton to Parliament House.
Approximately 40 per cent of Australian workers don’t have secure jobs and for some, penalty rates have been slashed.
A young retail worker at the rally told Catalyst News she was protesting for secure penalty rates as her weekend wage had been cut by five dollars.
The National Union of Workers Delegate, Rebecca, who spoke at the protest said “if inflation continues to rise then so should our income”.
Some of the unions present were Transports Workers Union of Victoria, Electrical Trades Union, Australian Education Union and Maritime Union of Australia.
Also in attendance was Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews who marched with protestors and said he was proud to be campaigning to give Victorian’s “a fair go”.
“People are angry, they’re out on the streets, they’re out in force… they are campaigning for something very simple,” Mr Andrews said.
The protest marks the second time in the past week where CBD streets have been disturbed by demonstrators after vegan activists blocked the intersection of Flinders Street Station on Monday.