|
||
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Issue No. 124 | 15 February 2002 |
|
||
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chickens Come Home
Unions: Winning the Heartland Interview: Swan's Song Corporate: Lessons from Enron Politics: What We Did Last Summer History: Solidarity in Song International: A Tale of Two Cities Poetry: Nobody Told Me Review: Labor and the Rings Satire: Rafter Named Bermudan Of The Year For Tax Purposes
The Soapbox The Locker Room Week in Review
 In Whose Interests?'International Labour's Year in Review' - A Re-ViewBelly's Broad-SideCollins Gets Cryptic
|
|
|
News Mad Monk Sides With Angels … Briefly
The CPSU considered testing the strength of Abbott’s born-again credentials after the Liberal Party head-kicker handed unexpected bouquets to public servants in a widely-circulated Canberra Times interview. In a Damscus-like revelation Abbott told how six years experience had transformed his views. "I was probably as susceptible to that kind of facile bureaucrat bashing as the next person," Abbott confessed. "But my experience of the Department of employment ... has given me a great respect and appreciation for the qualities of the Australian Public Service. I have become a complete convert to the strengths of our public service and have learnt to very much appreciate what it can do." It was, however, Abbott's reference to the "simply phenomenal" hours worked by public servants that caught the eye of CPSU national secretary, Wendy Caird. In her appearance before the Industrial Relations Commission, Caird argued that the loss of around 30,000 public service jobs over the last five years had led to an increase in dangerously long working hours. "Because public servants are dedicated and professional the job gets done. But let's not forget this dedication often comes at a heavy price in terms of health and family life," Caird said. The ACTU claim seeks to insert in the award system a standard of fairness about working hours and unhealthy roster patterns. The peak union body says Australians work among the longest hours in the developed world and this has implications for safety, family life and and productivity. The application is supported by the governments of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory but is being opposed by employer groups. Informed Canberra sources said Abbott would be "a voice crying out in the wilderness" if he attempted to have the Federal Government added to that list.
|
| Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue |
|
© 1999-2002 Workers Online 
|
|
