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  Issue No 113 Official Organ of LaborNet 28 September 2001  

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News

Telstra Guilty Over Union Discrimination


Australia's biggest employer, Telstra, was this week fined $75000 for workplace discrimination following an email sent by a former manager - the largest fine ever imposed for a breach of 'freedom of association' provisions.

The CPSU Communications Union has welcomed a Federal Court decision to fine Telstra $75,000 for discriminating against award-based employees in favour of staff on individual contracts (AWAs).

Central to the CPSU case was an e-mail sent to managers by then Employee Relations head, Rob Cartwright, on the day 10,000 staff cuts were announced.

Cartwright's e-mail implied workers who had signed individual contracts should be given preferential treatment in the redundancy process because they had placed "trust" in Telstra. The e-mail also warned "...managers will be held accountable to support the values of the company's preferred model of individual employment."

Justice Finklestien's decision allows the CPSU to recoup legal costs against the $75,000 fine.

The CPSU's Adrian O'Connell said "This is a great outcome for Telstra workers. It also sends a clear message to other employers about the dangers of discriminating against union members and using AWAs to de-unionise a workforce."

Despite the serious questions this incident raised about Rob Cartwright's judgement, the Howard government went ahead with his appointment as a Senior Vice President of the Industrial Relations Commission earlier this year.


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*   Issue 113 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: The Custodian
Labor's arts spokesman Bob McMullan on the role government can play in nurturing national culture.
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*  Media: Chucking a Wobbly
Veronica Apap meets Dan Buhagiar, the programmer of Labor Council's new online initiative, Wobbly Radio.
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*  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?
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*  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.
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*  Organising: STAA Performers
Film industry workers are acting collectively to ensure they don't become Mexicans with Mobiles.
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*  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?
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*  History: Creative Alliances
Neale Towart wanders through the archives to look at how unions' have worked with artists to promote progressive casuses.
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*  Performance: Tales from the Shop Floor
Peter Murphy profiles Sydney's New Theatre and the role it has played in fostering working culture.
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*  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.
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*  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.
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News
»  Abbott Stacks Commission on Election Eve
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»  Trades Hall to Be Fit for the Arts
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»  Olympic Builders Honoured in Oil
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»  Terror Shockwaves Hit Security Workers
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»  The Ansett Phoenix Rises
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»  'The General' Makes Ansett Stand
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»  One Dollar Workforce Highlights Workcover Concerns
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»  Email Workers Saved
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»  Union Power Gets Tilers Paid In Full
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»  NSW Nurses (Pro)Claim Their Worth
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»  AOL Sheds Non-Union Staff
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»  Building Inquiry Faces First Test of Integrity
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»  Telstra Guilty Over Union Discrimination
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»  Paint Workers Finish the Job
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»  New Project Agreement A Template
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»  The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!
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»  Activists Notebook
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  The Locker Room
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  Hamberger on Stellar
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»  CHOGM Agenda
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»  Ian West on Trades Hall
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