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

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Women Wanted for Wharf

The Maritime Union and P&O Ports have kicked off the push with an advertising campaign encouraging women to commit to waterfront careers.

Sue Virago, the only wharfie employed by P&O at Port Botany, has been appointed national women's liason officer to kick the campaign along. She will carry out the role, from the MUA's Sydney office, on a two-year secondment.

Virago, who chucked in varsity studies to join P&O as a 19-year-old in 1995, urges more women to consider maritime careers.

"It's a good job on the wharf, the money's good and if people show aptitude there is scope to move from casual to permanent employment," she said.

"It's not the heavy, dirty job it once was. Sure, you have to be physically fit and capable of lifting 15kg to 20kg weights, but most operations have been mechanised.

"Most good car drivers can learn to operate the forklifts, cranes and internal travel vehicles we use and it is one of the few places where you can pick up those qualifications."

Lashing containers is about the only remaining work requiring real physical strength and, given the states of some of the vessels visiting Sydney, can prove equally difficult for men as women.

To an extent, Virago's new role puts her on the spot. For years, she concedes, she has been taking shots at her employer about the lack of women joining the ranks.

"It's hard when you're by yourself," she admits. "The men here are a good bunch to work with but I still have to desensitise myself to the language and some of the behaviour.

"When I walk into the terminal, I change who I am."

If women take up her challenge, she hopes, that will change.

Virago says she will be available to counsel and help any women who take the waterfront option.

She will also be taking the message out - to schools, TAFEs and their various career days.

"The main thing to change is perceptions," she says. "Forty of fifty years ago, women wouldn't have thought about applying for jobs in the police or fire services but those barriers have been broken down and we will do the same."

P&O are advertising casual positions for physically fit people who hold a current drivers license, have at least five years experience in the workforce, and are able to work at heights.

Workers OnLine understands that more than 200 males responded to original ad against 10 females.

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