Jim Beggs - Australian Trades Union leader
Channel: Initiatives of Change International
Date: 2011-09-06

http://www.iofc.org Interview with Jim Beggs, former President, Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia. Beggs was an ordinary dock worker, in his own words "a fully paid up member of the 'couldn't care less brigade' before a conversation with his next door neighbour introduced him to the ideas of Initiatives of Change. 

At the time, the waterfront was a place of frequent industrial strife and violence. Beggs' decision to work for change, starting with a change in himself, led him to take effective action. He had a gift for building trust in an often divisive and explosive environment. Over time he and the team he built were able to transform the waterfront. During Bob Hawkes prime ministership, Beggs helped bring in much needed reforms, giving security and career paths to employees and raising productivity.

Interview recorded at "Armagh" the Initiatives of Change centre in Melbourne, Australia, May 2011