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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.
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.
 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
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.
Dirty Politics Won't Wash
Tom's Foolery
Give Us a Spray!
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News
Councils Targeted in Contracting Campaign
Local councils would force all private contractors doing work for them to commit to ethical employment practices under a contractors code being developed by NSW unions.
The code is the latest weapon in the push to stop private contractors undermining the wages and conditions of full-time workers in the local government area.
With many councils embracing competitive tendering, unions believe a statewide code is the only way of stopping the under-cutting of full-time jobs.
The CFMEU raised the code in the wake of a dispute with Burwood Council where a private contractor doing pacing work was found to be using illegal immigrants, via a labour hire company.
The workers were being paid cash at rates less than 50 percent those in union agreements, had no access to workers compensation or superannuation.
Labor Council secretary John Robertson says the code is a positive step and that pressure should be applied to ALP- controlled councils to sign up to it.
Opposition to Sartor's Power Grab
Meanwhile, the Municipal Employees' Union is opposing plans to extend the reach of Frank Sartor's Sydney City Council until he renounces competitive tendering.
The MEU and Sartor have been at loggerheads since October 2000 when the council moved to open up competitive tendering for core Council services.
In recent weeks Sartor unsuccessfully tried to force a non-union enterprise agreement through the federal Industrial Relations Commission.
MEU state secretary Brian Harris says there's no way the union will support boundary changes that reduce employment conditions for members in South Sydney and Leichhardt who would be bought under Sartor's control.
The Labor Council is seeking an urgent meeting with the Premier over the issue.
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Issue 125 contents
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