
Issue No 113		28 September 2001

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News

Abbott Stacks Commission on Election Eve

In a fallen assault on the independence of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the Howard Government has announced eleventh hour appointments that change the balance of the industrial umpire.

In an astonishing election eve slavo, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbot today announced the appointment of six new members to the AIRC - five of them from employer ranks.

They are Deputy Presidents Kenneth Bruce Ives, Reginald Sydney Hamilton, Brendan Patrick McCarthy and Dr. Nicholas Blain; and Commissioners Paula Spencer and Michael Gordon Roberts.

Kenneth Ives comes from Western Mining Corporation, Reg Hamilton from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Brendan McCarthy from the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Nicholas Blain is a business consultant and Paula Spencer comes from the Retailers Association of Queensland.

Only Michael Roberts, a former CPSU official, comes from the union ranks.

'Unprecedented and Disgraceful'

Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations Arch Bevis says the were unprecedented and a disgraceful abuse of convention only days from the beginning of a federal election campaign.

"In what literally seems to be the dying hours of the Government's term, Tony Abbott's announcement is a disgraceful and blatant abuse of convention," Bevis says.

"It is clear that Tony Abbott's parting shot will further undermine public confidence in the authority and independence of the commission in the eyes of all Australian employees and employers."

"In light of the way John Howard and his Ministers have contemptuously treated the commission by starving it of resources and publicly berating commissioners, the timing of this announcement can be seen for what it is - a transparent manipulation of the system and a partisan attack on the independence of the independent umpire. "

Employer Bias

The ACTU says the appointments follow a raft of appointments by Mr Reith earlier this year, including that of former Telstra executive Rob Cartwright.

The Federal Court this week fined Telstra $75,000 for discriminating against award employees in a Telstra email sent by Mr Cartwright in June last year.

"Prime Minister John Howard and Minister Abbott are trying to destroy the independent umpire and undermine bipartisanship and political neutrality in industrial relations," ACTU President Sharan Burrow says.

" Mr Abbot's blatant anti-worker bias is un-Australian and an insult to the independence of the Commission. "

Beazley Unveils Entitlements Plan

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has unveiled his response to the issue of workers entitlements.

Labor's plan is based on a small contribution of around 0.1 per cent of payroll from large companies, applied to a comprehensive national insurance scheme for all workers entitlements.

"Small employers would not even pay that: the Government will make this contribution on their behalf," Beazley says.

"Labor will also amend the Corporations Act to ensure companies cannot avoid employee entitlements by contrived arrangements such as those used in the infamous Patrick Stevedores case."

In addition to the Entitlements Guarantee, Labor will require superannuation payments to be made by employers quarterly rather than annually.

Keeping these payments up-to-date will offer far stronger protection of superannuation entitlements than present arrangements.

Beazley says Labor will also maintain 100 per cent protection of superannuation savings from theft and fraud.

"The Howard Government has backed and filled, patched and stitched, and still can't protect all workers and all entitlements -- unless they happen to work for the Prime Minister's brother.

"In contrast, Labor all along has argued for this fair, comprehensive, consistent and sensible solution to guarantee all workers their entitlements.

"Labor's solution will give workers the security they want and deserve and is yet another indication of how Labor offers security at home and abroad in these difficult times."

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Issue 113 contents

Interview: The Custodian
Labor's arts spokesman Bob McMullan on the role government can play in nurturing national culture.

Media: Chucking a Wobbly
Veronica Apap meets Dan Buhagiar, the programmer of Labor Council's new online initiative, Wobbly Radio.

E-Change: 3.3 Unleashing a Networked Culture
Politics does not occur in a vacuum - it's is as much a product of its culture as it is an influence on it. In the post-Industrial Age how will this relationship change?

Unions: Are You a Terrorist?
Away from the talkback noise, Mark Hearn reports on how a Sydney workforce is taking up the cause of racial understanding and tolerance.

Organising: STAA Performers
Film industry workers are acting collectively to ensure they don't become Mexicans with Mobiles.

Workplace: Making Art Work
The Workers Cultural Action Committee is a community cultural development provider. What is this? And what does it mean for the union movement?

History: Creative Alliances
Neale Towart wanders through the archives to look at how unions' have worked with artists to promote progressive casuses.

Performance: Tales from the Shop Floor
Peter Murphy profiles Sydney's New Theatre and the role it has played in fostering working culture.

Review: Homegroan
In an extract from her new book, The Money Shot, Jane Mills argues that the local film industry needs more than patriotism to get bums on seats.

Satire: PM Pleads To Nauru: Take Our Aborigines Too
In the wake of Nauru�s acceptance of the Tampa refugees, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has struck a new deal with the small island nation to take our Aborigines as well.

» Abbott Stacks Commission on Election Eve

» Trades Hall to Be Fit for the Arts

» Olympic Builders Honoured in Oil

» Terror Shockwaves Hit Security Workers

» The Ansett Phoenix Rises

» 'The General' Makes Ansett Stand

» One Dollar Workforce Highlights Workcover Concerns

» Email Workers Saved

» Union Power Gets Tilers Paid In Full

» NSW Nurses (Pro)Claim Their Worth

» AOL Sheds Non-Union Staff

» Building Inquiry Faces First Test of Integrity

» Telstra Guilty Over Union Discrimination

» Paint Workers Finish the Job

» New Project Agreement A Template

» The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!

» Activists Notebook