A-Infos (en) Australia, Ancomfed: Picket Line - How I got my job back (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A few months ago, I was fired. Being a casual worker on a working 
holiday visa put me in that precise sweet spot where you are the most 
vulnerable and disposable. It was also just before getting enough days 
to be eligible to renew my visa, and there was absolutely no opportunity 
to find any other work. So I did the only thing I could I fought... and 
got my job back. ---- I've been a casual worker my whole career and I've 
organised migrant workers in my home country before. A casual contract 
removes most of your job security and being a migrant means learning a 
new set of laws, industrial relations, and business practices. Bosses 
know this, which is why they're able to exploit and undermine us so 
severely.

I joined my union as soon as I moved to Australia because I knew I would 
have no power to fight this alone. None of us do. Which is why I've 
always tried to organise with my co-workers and inform them about their 
rights.

The bosses retaliate
I work at a fruit packaging factory where most of my co-workers are 
casualised migrants. After a while on the job, I recruited all of them 
to a WhatsApp group where we could talk about problems at work. I let 
them know I was happy to help with answering any questions.

One day, two of my mates came up to me after my shift. They told me they 
weren't given any afternoon break, just a lunch break, and that the 
managers almost always said, "We're finishing up soon, so there's no 
point in taking a break." This is a common form of wage theft which 
forces workers to give up their legally guaranteed paid breaks. I told 
my co-workers that they are entitled to a 10 minute break for every 
shift, no matter how long it is.

The same day, I posted a message in our group chat. I made clear that we 
had the right to take daily breaks and sent a link to our award as 
proof. I didn't even have time to think about any further action before 
my manager sent me a text the day after:

"Morning, I'm afraid I won't have any more work for you from this point 
on. Thank you for your work this last season and I wish you the best of 
luck in the future."

It was a complete lie. I knew we were in high-season and I had been 
verbally promised full- time hours for the two months ahead just a few 
days earlier. I tried asking him what was going on, but he had nothing 
more to say. I sent a screenshot of the texts to our group chat and 
asked if anyone had heard anything about reduced work-everyone was 
working as regular. This was a case of adverse action: illegal 
disciplinary action to punish workers enforcing their rights. Adverse 
action can take many forms, including threats to fire workers without 
valid reason, refusing to hire them, or other- wise discriminating 
against them.

Fighting back
Many casual workers would have given up here, but don't do it! If this 
happens to you, collect evidence. Whether you're on a permanent contract 
or a casual one, firing workers for organising is still illegal. But the 
law only matters if workers push for them to be enforced. And to enforce 
laws against adverse action, you'll want to have evidence.

Luckily, I could easily show that I was fired for no reason other than 
informing co-workers about their rights. I had screen- shots of our 
texts that were sent between a Saturday and a Sunday. In that time 
frame, no change in the workflow could have happened, and no one else 
had reported that such was the case. Clearly, the bosses were making it up.

When I had gathered my evidence, I called my union. I spoke to a great 
organiser that saw how clear-cut my case was. They asked me about the 
regularity of my work, and I said I worked varied shifts, but had 
consistent hours every week- typical for a casual contract.

From here, we were able to confront my boss with the accusation of an 
unfair dismissal, and that we were prepared to go to the Fair Work 
Commission if they didn't continue to roster me as usual. My manager got 
quite nervous, denied the claims of adverse action, and, without any 
prompting, brought up that he had heard about the break issue, and that 
it had been addressed.

That same day I received a message from my manager:

"Sorry for the misunderstanding, we have some shifts available as we've 
gotten a lot busier lately. Are you able to work tomorrow?"

I laughed hard and prepared a lunch box. My co-workers were happy and 
surprised to see me the following day. I continued to get work as I 
normally did, and one day my manager even came up to me and apologised 
for what happened. He said that he thought I was looking for trouble and 
had believed he could do what he did. I said casual workers have rights 
and need to be treated equally as everyone else, and that I wanted 
nothing more than what was right. Since then the situation has improved 
and workers are getting their breaks almost every shift.

So, when something similar happens to you, be a member of the union. 
Talk to your co-workers and back each other up. And if the bosses try to 
retaliate with adverse action, gather evidence and enforce your rights!

https://ancomfed.org/2025/11/how-i-got-my-job-back/
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