
Issue No 101		06 July 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Call for Senate to Decide Spammer's Fate

A Senate Inquiry should be established to determine of a member of the Australian Industrial relations Commission should lose his job after being found to discriminate against unionists in his former job.

Senior Deputy president Rob Cartwright is under growing pressure to stand aside after the Federal Court ruled that an email he sent while Telstra employees relations manager may have breached the Workplace relations Act a mind-boggling 4,250 times.

The email - which encouraged managers to give preference to workers on individual contracts when deciding who to make redundant - could end up costing tTelstra $425 million - $10,000 for each breach.

Community and Public Sector Union state secretary Mal Larsen says the fact that Cartwright had been found to have committed an offence under the very Act he is charged with overseeing brings the AIRC into disrepute.

"The AIRC is an in important institution in Australian industrial relations, assisting employers resolve workplace disputes and regulating the labour market," Larsen says.

"Its officer and members need to enjoy the confidence of both employer and employee representatives and be of sufficient character to maintain that confidence.

"The AIRC needs to be protected from perceptions that its officers and members are partisan in hearing matters before it."

See: This week's Tool Shed for more on the Cartwright saga

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 101 contents

Interview: A Little Knowledge
Labor's science spokesman Martyn Evans was the Opposition's key player on the Knowledge Nation inquiry. He fills us in on the process.

Education: Theory and Practise
Whether or not you agree with the priorities for of Barry Jones� Knowledge Nation Taskforce, Julie Wells argues its boldness has to be admired.

E-Change: 1.1 Email Nation
In the first of a series of articles on politics and the new economy, Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel argue network technologies are reshaping the fundamentals of society.

Economics: Banking on the Goodwill
Given their history, Evan Jones wonders whether banks can really claim to be "just like any other business"

International: A Deathly Struggle
In this dispatch from PNG, a trade union leader briefs us on the situation following the shooting of seven students at an anti-privatisation rally.

History: Enlarging Human Personality
Mark Hearn argues that Lloyd Ross's post-War approach to Workplace Democracy seems contemporary by today's standards

Satire: Shit is a Four Letter Word
Australian TV drama is lame and gutless just look at the ABC's Love is a Four Letter Word, says Tony Moore

Review: Tribute to an Artist
Dalgarno painted the seagulls circling the seafarer like flies buzzing around the face of a bushman. Thus did the artist depict the maritime worker.

» Academic Freedom On Trial

» Unified Approach to Sheahan Inquiry

» Living Standards Shape as Election Factor

» Clairvoyant PM In Secret Deal Fantasy

» Hotels Face Workers Quiz

» Call for Senate to Decide Spammer's Fate

» PNG � Howard Should Speak Out

» Couriers Buck Over Tax Ruling

» Kempsey Killing Highlights Health Fears

» Checkout Operators Better Paid Than Aged Care Workers

» ACTU Weighs Into Bank Campaign

» Fund Bad Health for Families

» Australian Music Web Radio Station Needs Recruits

» Activist Notebook