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Chickens Come Home
For anyone who believes in karma, the events of the summer show how bad Australia's is right now.
Unions: Winning the Heartland
John Robertson unveils new research on attitudes to refugees and argues it's time for unions to mount their own propaganda war.
Interview: Swan's Song
Federal ALP front-bencher Wayne Swan expands on his ideas for rebuilding the Party in the wake of the Tampa election.
Corporate: Lessons from Enron
Jim Marr looks at the shock-waves the collapse of a US corporate heavy-weight are having around the globe.
Politics: What We Did Last Summer
We look back over a summer when it all went pear-shaped. Some events, at home and abroad, look set to have ongoing ramifications.
History: Solidarity in Song
Mark Gregory looks back on the annals of labour songs and offers some hints for those planning a tilt at the Labor Council's worker anthem comp.
International: A Tale of Two Cities
New York and Port Alegre are poles apart � but they both played host to important conferences on the future of globalisation over the summer.
Poetry: Nobody Told Me
Labour academic David Peetz commits the Prime Minister's current woes to verse.
Review: Labor and the Rings
Tolkien�s epic tale provides a timely reminder that that there are forces of good and evil in the world � and that they are not necessarily where we expect to find them, writes Michael Gadiel.
Satire: Rafter Named Bermudan Of The Year For Tax Purposes
Australian of the Year Pat Rafter was last night also named Bermudan of the Year, in a simple ceremony held in Bermuda's Parliament.
 Unions' Commit to Battle for Hearts
Carr on Notice - Expectations Up
Mad Monk Sides With Angels � Briefly
Maritime Union Acts on Spy Scandal
May Day Play-Off for Workers' Anthem
Burmese Links Shroud Winter Olympics
New Phone Venture One.Tel In Drag
Two Million Face Rights Downgrade
Enron Collapse Hits Share-Owner Agenda
Corrrigan Snaps Up Rail Bargain
Kinko Clowns With Workers' Rights
MPs Face Security Checks
Telstra's Tragic Delays Of Its Own Making
Burrow Puts Case to World Economic Forum
Shangri La Protests Hit Melbourne
Activists Notebook
The Soapbox
Chinks in the Armour
The ACTU's Michael Crosby argues that Mark Latham's attack on the Labor for Refugees movement is the betrayal of Party values. The Locker Room
Off-side in Korea?
With the World Cup set to kick off in a matter of months, South Korea's treatment of unions is under the microscope. Week in Review
Cloak and Dagger
In the first of what will be a regular column, we place the week's labour news into a nutshell.
In Whose Interests?
'International Labour's Year in Review' - A Re-View
Belly's Broad-Side
Collins Gets Cryptic
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News
Corrrigan Snaps Up Rail Bargain
The man who took on the Maritime Union at the behest of the Howard Government has purchased FreightCorp and National Rail at a bargain basement price.
Rail unions say the newly privatised enterprise was sold to Chris Corrigan's Patricks for 25 per cent of its true value.
Rail, Tram and Bus Unions NSW branch secretary Nick Lewocki says the joint sale of FreightCorp and National Rail confirmed pre-sale analysis that the Federal Government would sell National Rail for significantly less than the real value of the assets.
The RTBU said National Rail, valued at approximately $800 million, was flicked off for $220 million.
No protests have been heard from share holding State Governments, NSW and Victoria, or the federal opposition transport spokesperson.
"No wonder the public is cynical about privatisation," Lewocki said.
"Investors have identified that the Federal Government sold National Rail for significantly less than its real value.
Reinvest Money In State Services
Meanwhile, the RTBU has called on the Carr Government to invest money from FreightCorp and its National Rail share back into community infrastructure.
The recent sale of FreightCorp by the NSW Government plus its 20 per cent share from the National Rail sale has nettled the NSW Government $365 million.
The RTBU has written to Premier Bob Carr identifying three important investments that will return some value to rural communities. These are:
- upgrading and refurbishing the rural passenger service fleet - XPT carriages and engines.
- upgrading NSW rail infrastructure, focussing on country branch lines, and urgently upgrading old rail bridges
- injecting funds into rural education, aged care and health services
 Visit the RTBU
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