
Issue No 104		27 July 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

AMA Move on Doctors’ Hours Welcome

The ACTU has welcomed an Australian Medical Association report highlighting dangerous hospital rosters forced on young doctors.

"The AMA's report confirms the systematic causes of unsafe working hours in hospitals across Australia and deserves urgent government attention," ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles said.

"The particular needs of hospital staffing are no excuse for making people work virtually unlimited hours. No-one should have to work these extreme hours."

The AMA's Risk Assessment for Junior Doctor Rosters study found that 78% of junior doctors are working hours that involve a significant or high risk of performance impairment.

Working more than 60 hours per week was commonly identified as a key risk factor. Many hospital doctors worked up to 100 hours a week, with one doctor continuously on duty for 63 hours.

"Previous research has shown that performance impairment after 18 hours of sustained wakefulness is equivalent to being too drunk to drive," Mr Marles said.

"Doctors should not be forced into the position where they cannot perform at their best. The fact that this is occurring where patients' health is at stake makes the problem doubly urgent."

The ACTU's Reasonable Hours Test Case currently before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission sought to outlaw excessive and dangerous working hours in Federal Awards.

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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