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Issue No. 125 22 February 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

Unfair and Dismal
As the credibility of the Howard Government sunk under lies and conceit this week, Tony Abbott – for a moment - looked uncharacteristically subdued.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: If Not Now, When?
New Labor Council organiser Adam Kerslake talks about his plans to bring unions back to basics.

Activists: Fighting Back
Jim Marr talks to Keysar Trad, a unionist who's left the security of the Tax Office for a much bigger challenge.

Industrial: Croon And Divide
Fly a kite, obfuscate the issues, divide your opponents and continue to hammer people: the one-card-trick Howard Government’s latest kite is unfair dismissal reports Noel Hester.

Politics: Politics of Extinction
Trade unionism is a spent force; a dinosaur. This alleged truism is often heard these days, in one form or another. Rowan Cahill unpacks the lie.

History: Harry Bridges: International Labour Hero
Zoe Reynolds marks the centenary of the birth of an Australian waterfront worker who went on to lead one of America's largest unions.

International: Rats in the Ranks
The relationship between Britain’s Blair Labour Government and the union movement has hit a new low, as Andrew Casey reports.

Review: Follow The Fence, Find The Truth
Tara de Boehmler reviews a new flick that sheds light on the debate around the Stolen Generation.

Satire: Howard Screws Refugee Kids: G-G Turns Blind Eye
Startling claims that Prime Minister John Howard screwed refugee children prior to the last election, and also during a hunger strike at Woomera, have been dismissed by the Governor-General Peter Hollingworth.

Poetry: Let It Be
When a certain former Minister for Defence visited England recently, he met Sir Paul McCartney. The former Beatle thought there was something strange about him, but he didn't say anything. He decided to just Let It Be.

N E W S

 Building Workers' Bid to Win Back Lives

 Dog-Tired – Long Hours Leave Beagles Buggered

 Home Care Workers Reject Sweat

 Building Commission's Costly Spin

 Caltex Asked To Explain Price Hikes

 Palm Sunday Resurrected for Refugees

 Dismissals: Labor Blocks The Lot

 Company Collapses: Union Wants Bank Powers

 Women Wanted for Wharf

 Sanity Returns to the West

 Big Brother Raises Hackles

 Legal Action to Block Job Exports

 New Dawn for Dili Workers

 Councils Targeted in Contracting Campaign

 CFMEU Constructs Lebanese Bridge

 Israeli Aircraft Destroy Most Of Palestinian Union HQ

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Shorten's Suite
AWU national secretary Bill Shorten outlines his vision for unionism - from the relations with the ALP to its efforts to regain the heartland.

The Locker Room
Bunnies in the Headlights
Despite their triumphant return to the League, Souths story won't be the last example of tradition being trampled, writes Jim Marr.

Week in Review
Tories in Turmoil
With a constitutional crisis and a dangling mandate, it was compelling viewing for the Howard jeer squad.

L E T T E R S
 Dirty Politics Won't Wash
 Tom's Foolery
 Give Us a Spray!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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News

Dog-Tired – Long Hours Leave Beagles Buggered


Australian quarantine workers are being forced to work such unreasonable hours that their sniffer dogs are showing the signs of over-work and fatigue.

The CPSU says it has been inundated with stories on the effects of long hours on Australian Quarantine Inspections Service (AQIS) workers at Sydney airport since they were forced onto seven-day rosters with 5am starts.

CPSU organiser Alison Rahill says many handlers are concerned about the new rosters, not just for themselves but also their canine comrades.

"Some of the dogs have already had medical treatment for work-related injuries like soft-tissue damage, back soreness and seizures," she explained.

"Over time, the animals develop strong relationships with individual handlers, so swapping dogs around is difficult and inefficient," she says. "If handlers are on seven-day shifts then the dogs are obliged to do them as well."

Early Morning Start

Dogs are picked up from their Eastern Creek kennels at 5am and driven across town to the airport. From ther,e it's a solid day's baggage sniffing before being returned after dark.

There are not enough dogs to rotate through shifts, which means they don't get much of a break.

"All the handlers want is reasonable control over their hours," Rahill says.

"They love their job and they love their dogs, but they fear these new shifts will become unsafe and unworkable."

Reasonable Hours Push

The dogs' plight emerged as hearings continued last week on the historic Reasonable Hours Test case before a full bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

All witnesses to the case have been heard. Final oral hearings will take place in early June. A decision is expected later in the year

The ACTU is seeking:

- a clear definition of excessive hours

- extra paid leave of up to two days a month in cases of excessive overtime or inadequate rostering

-days off granted within seven days of accrual to alleviate fatigue.

- rules on excessive working hours to be flexible.

Long Hours Hit Wharvies

Meanwhile, hearings on crippling injuries to MUA members forced to work long hours on straddles at Patrick, Port Botany, are set to enter their fourth week in the state Industrial Commission on Monday.

An estimated one in four wharfies (30 of 120 employees) at Port Botany container terminal suffered neck, shoulder and back injuries, under work practices introduced after the lockout, with dozens seeking physiotherapy. The situation in other states is no better.

At issue are cutbacks which forced straddle operators to work day after day twisted sideways in cramped, poorly designed cabins, with only one break, every shift.

STOP PRESS Three more dogs were taken to the vet just prior to press time!


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