FACES OF MIGRATION - NICK LEWOCKI

NICK LEWOCKI
How has being a migrant (or family of a migrant) changed or shaped you?

Arriving in Australia as a young child with my mother and father I saw the difficulties they and other migrants had with language and culture.
I believe those early years shaped me to want to help and assist refugees and migrants settle into their new country, Australia.
I joined the NSW Government Railways in 1964, I became an active union member and in 1979 I was elected as a fulltime union official with the Australian Railways union (now the Rail Tram and Bus Union).
In this position, I was able to negotiate the introduction to paid on the job English classes for rail workers from a non-English speaking background. Hundreds of rail workers successfully undertook these classes and went onto further study that allowed them to promote from base grade positions into higher grades with better pay.
I became active in “Labor for Refugees” and used my union and political influence to promote policies at the Australian Labor Party conferences and lobbying MPs to assist refugees who arrived into Australia.

For more migration stories visit: lab.sea.museum/migration

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