NATIONAL Farm Safety Week is held each year to raise awareness of farm safety issues across Australia. In 2018, National Farm Safety Week runs from Monday July 16 to Sunday July 22. and the teme is ‘Innovative, Safe and Healthy’.

The 2018 National Farm Safety Week theme highlights the importance of business and industry continuing to work together to increase the well-being of Australian farmers through innovation and improved attention to health and safety outcomes.

THE SDA, the union for workers in retail and fast food, is launching a new drive to recruit young workers starting their first job and to talk to them about their rights where they are, on social media.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said new recruitment drive, which would be rolled out over social media was a response to research which found young workers had very limited knowledge of their rights or the role of unions.

“Young people entering the workforce for the first time have very little knowledge of their rights or the role unions can play in helping them with their workplace problems," Mr Dwyer said.

“Its safe to say that a large number of young people barely know unions exist, let alone how they can help, or why they should join one.

“Additionally, research from the University of Sydney found that 25 percent of student retail workers were being underpaid, and 35 percent were not receiving the correct weekend rates.

“We decided that we really needed to take a ‘back to basics’ approach, providing simple, easy to understand information about workplace rights, what unions are and what they do.

“That’s why our first video answers the basic question of ‘what is a union?'

“Further videos explain basic workplace concepts like wages, weekends, annual and equal pay and are designed to speak with young workers at their level," Mr Dwyer said.

“In addition to providing accessible and straightforward information we also wanted to reach young workers where they currently were, and that’s on Snapchat, Instagram and to a lesser degree Facebook.”

Mr Dwyer said that in addition to the videos, which will be advertised across several social media platforms over the coming weeks, the SDA has also developed a young worker hub called 100% Pay to provide reliable information on workplace rights and how the union could assist.

“We developed 100% Pay as a place where young retail and fast food workers can go for simple and clear information about their basic rights at work," he said. 

“To get them started, we’ve provided a quick quiz on their six basic rights at work. If a young worker finds they are not receiving what they’re entitled to, they can get in contact with the union.”

Mr Dwyer said that the SDA’s new focus was consistent with the ACTU’s drive to recruit and assist young workers, which was to be discussed at the ACTU triennial Congress in Brisbane this week.

The 100% Pay videos can be found here or visit the 100% Pay website here.

ends

KEYTONE Dairy Corporation Ltd -- with a pending ASX code of KTD -- will be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) tomorrow, July 18 at noon.

Keytone Dairy capital raising closed with an oversubscription of A$15 million through the issuing of 75 million ordinary shares at the issue price of $0.20 per share. On listing the company will have a market capitalisation of $30 million.

As part of the IPO, Keytone Dairy will acquire Keytone Enterprises (NZ) Company Limited (Keytone NZ) which is a profitable New Zealand-based company manufacturer, packer and exporter of dairy and nutrition blended products, with a focus on powdered dairy products.

Keytone Dairy’s proprietary manufacturing facility, located in Christchurch, New Zealand, produces commercial whole and skim milk powder as well as other dairy powder blends under its proprietary brands. The company also contract-packs a range of powdered dairy products for major supermarkets, retail chains, dairy producers and other customers, in New Zealand and China, under their private label brands. 

Keytone Dairy’s products are exported globally, including to China, for sale in a variety of channels, including major supermarket chains, premium retail channels and online marketplaces. Keytone Dairy holds the coveted China Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) licence, a pre-requisite for importation of dairy products into the People’s Republic of China. It is also Halal-certified, enabling exports into Muslim countries.

Keytone Dairy’s customers and distribution channels include, New World, PAK’nSAVE, Countdown (Woolworths New Zealand subsidiary), Dairyworks New Zealand, Metro, Guangzhou Dept. & Friendship Store, HalsoKraft, JD.com, Tmall.com and VIP.com.

Funds from the IPO will be used primarily to expand the company’s manufacturing base from its one existing facility to include two new manufacturing facilities it plans to build. Keytone Dairy also plans to expand its product range, distribution network and develop distribution in additional geographic markets.

About Keytone Dairy

Keytone Dairy Corporation Ltd is the Australian wholly-owned subsidiary of Keytone Enterprises (NZ) Company Ltd, a New Zealand-based manufacturer, packer and exporter of dairy and nutrition blended products, with a current focus on powdered dairy products. Keytone Dairy has successfully commercialised and is currently selling whole and skim milk powder and other dairy powder blends under its proprietary brands, as well as manufacturing and packing a range of powdered dairy products for leading supermarkets, retail chains, dairy producers and other customers under their private label brands.

https://www.keytonedairy.com

ends

QUEENSLAND'S resources sector has hundreds of job vacancies from Townsville and Mt Isa in the North, to Toowoomba and Roma in the South and in the nation’s biggest mining town Brisbane, according to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said there were currently close to 1,400 Queensland job vacancies in mining, resources and energy on the employment website SEEK.

"To borrow the famous quote from Lord Kitchener, ‘we want you’ to apply for a job in resources and fill these vacancies,” Mr Macfarlane said.

"Jobs in the resources sector are good jobs. Resource jobs are well-paid jobs. The mining industry has by far the highest average weekly full-time adult earnings of any industry at $2659 – or over $138,000 per annum.

"Our sector continues to drive economic opportunities both in the regions and the larger cities and if we are to maintain this momentum and increase royalties the sector needs people operating the machinery, loading the ships and working with communities."

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) labour force data revealed the sector was creating a job every hour or 8400 new jobs over the last 12 months.

"The Palaszczuk Government has been committed to maintaining an unemployment rate with a ‘five in front of it’. The resources sector shares the Government’s ambition, and we are ready, willing and able to deliver," Mr Macfarlane said.

QRC’s March quarter State of the Sector report found jobs growth in the coal, minerals, petroleum and gas industries were very strong with a survey of chief executive officers (CEOs) of QRC member companies finding 52 percent would increase their Queensland workforce over the next 12 months, with 13 percent looking to increase employment ‘substantially.’

Only 9 percent of CEOs surveyed said they planned to reduce staff over the next 12 months, with none of the CEOs expecting a substantial decrease.

The Queensland resources sector supports more than 280,000 full-time jobs and contributed over $55 billion to the State’s economy in 2016/17.

Total vacancies in Queensland for mining, resources and energy is 1,396, according to SEEK.

www.qrc.org.au

ends