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  Issue No 114 Official Organ of LaborNet 05 October 2001  

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News

Email Bullies in Medibank Pay-Back


Union delegates at Medibank Private have been officially 'counselled' for emailing fellow members in the wake of a successful campaign against a family-busting enterprise agreements.

Medibank workers this week voted overwhelmingly to reject the agreement which would have destroyed the lives of health insurer's largely female workforce by forcing them to start work as early as 7am and work back to 9pm.

The new rosters - which also included a six-day rostered week - were part of the agreement voted down 604 to 201. The vote followed unprecedented industrial action, including the first strike action ever by the workers.

Workplace delegates involved in the campaign are now being targeted by management, with several being officially 'counselled' for use of the office email.

CPSU state secretary Mal Larsen says the action follows management's decision to block union access to the internal email system during the protracted bargaining period.

Larsen says management also intercepted staff email and regularly monitored messages sent by union delegates.

"The actions of management amounted to a campaign of intimidation against union delegates," Larsen says. But this week's vote shows that these tactics did not deter the workers."

Impetus for E-Mail Protection

The plight of the Medibank Private workers has added fuel to a union push to secure legal protection for email privacy in the workplace.

The issue has been before the Carr Government for more than two years and is understood to be addressed in a report currently with the government.

The NSW Law Reform Commission into Privacy is believed to contain important safeguards for employees from covert surveillance of email communications.

While the government released details of the report to the Sunday Telegraph in April, along with a commitment for legislation to match the recommendations of the report - the actual findings still remain secret.

The NSW Labor Council made submissions to the Law Reform Commission, that email surveillance should broadly reflect existing legislation on video surveillance.

Under those laws covert surveillance is prohibited unless an employer receives a court order, while overt surveillance is covered by a strict code of conduct.


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*   Issue 114 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Thinking Smart
With education a key priority, Labor's spokesman Michael Lee will emerge as a key player in the upcoming campaign.
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*  Unions: In the Spotlight
The Public Education Convention placed the spotlight firmly on the performance and prospects of our federal politicians.
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*  Campaign Diary: Election Form Guide
So they're off and racing in the 2001 stakes. Right now it's looking more like a handicap, but we're going along for the ride.
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*  Education: Applying the Blowtorch
Veronica Apap reports on how teachers are planning to elevate education in the upcoming federal campaign.
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*  History: Australia�s Orwell
Stephen Holt argues that the life of Jim Maloney contained echoes of the literary legend's own political journey.
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*  International: Brazil Loses Child Labour Warrior
The global trade union movement against child labour has lost one of their brightest forces to a brutal assassination.
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*  E-Change: 3.4 The New Governance
In the last instalment in their series on technological change, Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel look at the challenges politics has yet to meet.
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*  Satire: Qantas Denies New $7770 Domestic Fares 'Exploitative'
Australia's largest domestic carrier Qantas has rejected suggestions that it's new $7770 fares between Sydney and Melbourne are taking advantage of the airline's recently inherited monopoly.
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*  Review: Dark Music for Dark Souls
The term Industrial Music represents a wide variety and coalition of musical forms, Adam Lincoln explains.
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News
»  Corporate IT Training in Labor's Sights
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»  Ansett Battle Moves to Top End of Town
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»  Ansett Families Jeer Howard The Saboteur
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»  Ansett Workers Hit the Hustings
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»  Email Bullies in Medibank Pay-Back
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»  Unions to Campaign Against Workplace Racism
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»  WorkCover's Adverts 'Devoid of Meaning'
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»  Principals Warn Of Critical Shortage
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»  Nurses Release Federal Policy Proposals
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»  The Aged Care Monster
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»  IT Workers Get Union Voice
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»  New Partnership for Sustainable Energy Industry
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»  One Hundred Strike Over Crane Accident
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»  CEPU Official for Telstra Board
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»  Qld Casual Workers Pay Increases
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»  The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!
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»  Activists Notebook
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»  Vale: Frank Belan
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  Sport
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  The President and the Terrorist
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»  Confessions of a Grand Final Loser
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»  A Plan for Australia
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»  Sleeping on the Job
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