Jennie George To Sign Off Online

Date: 07 March 2000

Outgoing ACTU President Jennie George will spend her final hours in the job looking to the future, taking part in an online chat with casual women workers tomorrow.

Workers are invited to spend their lunch hour chatting with Jennie George between 1pm and 2pm on Wednesday, March 8 - International Women's Day in LaborNet's new Virtual Trades Hall.

Ms George said she came up with the online chat idea as a parting gesture to emphasise the importance of unions coming to terms with new ways of organising new types of workers.

She said the issue of casual workers, particularly women, as a key priority for the unions.

"Young people are coming into the workforce as casuals and our structures don't adequately appreciate or deal with that," she said. "I would estimate that 40 per cent of workers at the moment are what you call precariously employed.

"They don't fit readily into the models of yesteryear, and I think the challenge will be for the union movement to allow people with different ideas to have their place in the decisions for the future."

Ms George said she's keen to find out what casual workers think of their working lives, as well as being on hand to offer some advice on how to get organised. The event will also give supporters a chance to personally say farewell to a woman who transformed the union movement.

The chat will be the official christening of LaborNet's new Virtual Trades Hall auditorium at http://www.labor.net.au, which will regularly host live chats with high profile union figures

For further information

Contact:	Peter Lewis
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
Phone:	016 289335
WWW:	http://workers.labor.net.au/

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