WIMDOI
the union movement, “The conference presented so many powerful moments, the march to the Workers Memorial being something to remember, as a previous speaker informed us that last year there were 194 fatalities on the jobsite across Australia and to see the Memorial and realise how many Australian Families have been impacted by preventable accidents, this really left an impression as we collectively paid our respects in a moment of remembrance.
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his year we sent one of our PPTEU Women Chanelle C to the WIMDOI Conference held in Canberra. It was an experience to remember for our new Fire Sprinkler apprentice, only having been with the union for 1 year. In an interview with Chanelle she stated, “When I arrived in Canberra on Monday, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to the capital and was already so excited (and a little nervous) to be asked to represent our Union and women across Queensland. I tried to be open and take in as much as possible; from meeting Ministers, attending parliament house and so many articulate and powerful speakers – wow! In reflection, I’m glad that I took this approach as sharing a conference room filled with Union women from all different trades and industries workshopping, sharing experience and knowledge on how we can be part of making our union stronger for women and men was a truly empowering platform.” The guest speaker Patrizia Cassaniti, who founded the Christopher foundation, #Christopherslaw after her son was tragically killed two days after his 18th birthday on a construction site, after an extensive investigation into the root cause, it was revealed to be complacency on the worksite. The driving force behind the Patrizia is to attend conferences in the hopes of educating young women and men on the importance of safety in the workplace. Chanelle stated, “Her emotional message really struck a chord with me, as it did for many in the room.” When speaking with Chanelle she explained her experience as being impacting and memorable, leaving the conference feeling engaged, empowered and excited to be a part of
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I left the WIMDOI 2022 conference engaged, empowered, and excited to be part of a union that supports communication, solidarity between states and strives to get everyone home by promoting safe practices in the workplace. I would like to thank the PPTEU Qld for the opportunity to attend the 2022 WIMDOI conference and am excited in the direction the PPTEU is heading.” Thank you Chanelle for taking up the opportunity to attend this amazing conference, we are grateful to you for being ready and open to this new experience. The PPTEU looks forward to sending more women to conferences like this in the future, as it has proven to ignite a passion for what Unions are all about, but also create a sisterhood that will test the time.