
Issue No 104		27 July 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Employer Dirty on Leave Win

A 50 year old Canberra cleaner who applied to take an overseas holiday to see her elderly parents, probably for the last time, is a working class hero.

" Slavica Noveska is being dragged through the court system by a boss who simply wants to deny her annual leave," Gil Anderson, the LHMU Cleaning Union ACT Secretary said.

On Monday her boss, Limro Cleaning Services, will appear before Senior Deputy President Watson asking him to overturn an earlier Industrial Relations Commission decision.

The earlier Commission decision said Limro was 'unreasonable', and promptly changed the award to guarantee annual leave to cleaners.

" Limro Cleaning Services are pushing to get a Full Bench IRC hearing to declare that a boss has a right to deny annual leave, " Gil Anderson said.

" Slavica Noveska is a strong unionist and she knows she is not fighting just for herself - she is fighting for all cleaners and all Australian workers.

" She has stuck by her union principles to help rewrite Australian workers annual leave rights with the AIRC coming down on her side declaring the boss unreasonable and changing the Award saying annual leave shall not be withheld unreasonably.

" All Slavica wanted to do was attend a family wedding in Macedonia, see her aging parents - possibly for the last time - and to see her four-year-old grandson for the first time.

" The case went before the AIRC with Mrs Noveska winning the right to take her holidays

at her chosen time - but now the boss is dragging the decision before the Full Bench.

" Despite the court challenge Mrs Noveska has gone to Macedonia for the family event.

" Her son Sasha says his mother is now concerned she may not have a job when she returns in six weeks time.

" The case is remarkable because the employer had refused to negotiate with the employee and gave no valid reason for rejecting the holiday request.

" Unfortunately we live in an environment where employers - who feel they have the backing of the anti-worker Howard Government - are becoming more and more arrogant thinking they can ignore the rights and needs of their workforce.

" Only workers who organise unions can get the leverage to stand up to this arrogance," the LHMU Cleaners Union ACT Secretary said.

Read an earlier story about this on-going dispute

Boss tries (again) to stop cleaner going on holiday

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  Issue 104 contents

Interview: A Super Agenda
Labor's federal spokesman on superannuation Kelvin Thompson outlines the challenges a Beazley Government will face in managing the nation's savings.

E-Change: 1.4 The Shifting Sands of Ideology
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel conclude the first part of their study of new politics by looking for core Labor values in a post-Cold War environment.

Corporate: Locking Horns
The same names keep cropping up in the business pages as the web of corporate control stays tied to a few big players. Georgina Murray has been looking at the extent and depth of the connections.

Unions: The Workers Bank
With banks on the nose, David Whiteley looks at how unions and super funds have got together to create the real deal � the workers bank.

International: Phil Davey's Amazon Postcard
The CFMEU's Boy Wonder has downed the megaphone for three months in South America. Here's what he's been up to.

History: Faded Vision of The American Bounder
King O'Malley was an American ex-pat who dreamed of a people's bank. Neale Towart looks at what happened to his vision.

Activists: The Big Gee-Up
With the big guns of the anti-corporate movement in town, Mark Hebblewhite goes looking for a definition of globalisation.

Indonesia: Where to the Workers After Gus Dur?
At the end of a turbulent week, Jasper Goss looks at the impact of the overthrow of Wahid on Indonesian workers.

Review: Mixing Pop and Politics
'The Bank' is a new Australian film that takes a contemporary political issue and transforms it into a piece of compelling popular culture.

Satire: Milosevic's Defence: "I Was Just Issuing Orders"
Disgraced former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has brushed off against charges for war crimes against humanity and mass genocide.

» Community Banks Are No Collectivists

» Labor Vows to Widen Royal Commission

» WorkCover Finally Fesses Up � Premiums the Problem

» Unions Launch 56 Hour Watch

» Call Centre Campaign Bares First Fruit

» Justice at Last for One.Tel Workers

» Entitlements Push Gathers Momentum

» Employer Dirty on Leave Win

» Rights Put In Too Hard Basket

» AMA Move on Doctors� Hours Welcome

» Aussie Post Workers Rally

» Strike by Airport Guards Lawful

» Workers Rejects Brough Deal

» Unions Will March at CHOGM

» Average Response to Robberies

» Coca-Cola Sued for Using Paramilitary Force

» Activists Notebook