
Issue No 105		03 August 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Concerns About Members Equity

I am a big supporter of Members Equity and I think the concept of a 'Workers' Bank' is a good idea.....but...

Members Equity should ensure that its relationships with union members are always positive and principled.

Members Equity needs to ensure that the groups it operates in partnership with also have relationships with union members who are positive and principled.

Our union has some problems at the moment with one of Members Equity's important partners in this exercise AXA, the French multinational finance company.

At AXA's HQ in Melbourne the company has recently changed the parameters of the contracted out cleaning service in such a way that unionised cleaners are losing jobs and are being financially penalised.

The LHMU has had a dispute with the company over this issue for some months now.

AXA keeps trying - Pontius Pilate like - to wash its hands of the problem by saying it has nothing to do with them, it is purely a matter between the contract cleaner and the union.

The truth is the contract cleaner is at the beck and call of AXA who tendered out the job and in the final instance sets the parameters.

Members Equity, as the Workers Bank, needs to show that it is not prepared to work with companies who behave in ways which financially hurt their customers base - or their potential customer base.

Yours

Andrew Casey

PS. Let me declare here that I am a satisfied customer of Members Equity as I have a great home loan from them and use their credit cards. However I am uncomfortable with their behaviour towards LHMU members.

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Issue 105 contents

Interview: Whose Advocate?
Employment Advocate Jonathon Hamberger argues the case for his organisation's survival and reveals his secret union past.

Politics: CHOGM: What Should Unions Do?
Activists Peter Murphy and Vince Caughley kick off the debate about what is the appropriate action ot take when CHOGM leaders meet in Brisbane

E-Change: 2.1 - The Changing Corporate Landscape
In the second part of their series on the impact of new technology, Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel try to understand the new corporate playing field.

Unions: Hamburgled
Jim Marr reports that the Employment Advocate has been handed a chance to salvage some credibility by cleaning up anti-union practices in the call centre industry.

Economics: Privatisation: The Dangerous Road
Frank Stilwell argues that the corporate collapses of HIH and One Tel are potent reminders of the downside of �people�s capitalism�.

History: Hard-Earned Lessons
Art Shostack looks at the legacy of the landmark strike by PATCO air traffic controllers 20 years ago.

International: Political Prisoner
Greenpeace campaigner Nic Clyde, facing up to six years gaol in the United States for taking part in a non-violent protest, speaks exclusively with workers Online.

Review: Seven Pubs and Seven Nights
Labor Council's newest recruit, Susan Sheather, shows she respects tradition by going in search of the perfect bar

Satire: Obituary: Mr Rob Cartwright - Captain of Industry
In all fields of endeavour, there are those who command our respect through their sheer commitment to excellence. One such titan was Rob Cartwright, whose chosen field, the obscure HR discipline of "moving people onto individual contracts" lost its greatest practitioner and champion late last night, following a tragic self-inflicted accident.

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» Protecting Children, Protecting Jobs

» Child Labour Fine on McDonald's

» Call for Colombian Inquiry Into Murders

» Activist Notebook