Hospital with Stowe Electrical, fixing the supplies for the individual hospital rooms.
On Tuesday 25th April it was ANZAC day, a national day of remembrance to all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who’ve served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. It meant an early start for Matthew, as he explained: “I got up at 3:45am to make the service, which started just before 4:30am. There was quite a turnout with a couple of thousand people in attendance. It was a sombre environment but worthwhile visiting.”
On Wednesday evening Matthew attended an ETU Youth Crew meeting at the ETU offices in Brisbane. The ETU Youth Crew is open to any ETU member up to the age of 32. They aim to foster union interest in younger members as well as put forward ideas that matter to the youth membership for the biannual union delegate conferences, which help dictate the direction of the ETU.
Matthew met up with former NG Bailey employee Kenny Bell again for the last time on Thursday. Matthew said: “Meeting Kenny was one of the highlights of my trip, he really made me feel welcome and offered so much of his time to show me his favourite parts of Queensland. So many people at NG Bailey had spoken highly of him and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to meet him.”
On his last full day in Brisbane Matthew attended the Workers’ Memorial Day at Emma Miller Place. He explained: “The Workers’ Memorial Day is a day of commemoration of workers who’ve died at work or through work-related illness. There were multiple speakers from Unions as well as family members of people who’ve been lost at work or through work-related diseases. It was another sombre day but a great opportunity to show respect and solidarity for colleagues who’ve passed.”
Matthew returned all of his PPE, tools and the car to Electrogroup before saying his goodbyes and thanked everyone for their time and support during his visit.
Now back home following his once-in-a-lifetime trip, Matthew reflected: “It was a great experience and I’m glad to have been selected to represent the JIB in Queensland. I would suggest to anyone to put themselves forward for the exchange in future years. It’s a great opportunity for any electrician looking to broaden their personal and career experiences.”
If you’ve missed the rest of Matthew’s diary entries they can still be viewed on the news section of the JIB website.
