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Interview: Clean Hands
Susan Ryan was Labor's first female Minister, today she represents the trustees responsible for our super funds, where the move to socially responsible investment is happening, albeit slowly.
Corporate: Out of Asia
The decision by America�s biggest employee pension fund to pull out of a number of Asian countries because of their poor labour rights and civil liberties standards has sent shock waves through the region.
Unions: Tears, Real And Crocodile, At The Ansett Wake
It�s ended in heartbreak but the campaign to keep Ansett flying should really be remembered for the courage, determination and decency of the airline�s devoted staff writes Noel Hester.
Economics: Labour�s Capital: Individual Or Collective?
More Australians own shares than ever before, asks Frank Stilwell, but is it the best way to share the wealth?
History: Mardi Gras: The Biggest Labour Festival?
The struggle for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers has been part of the wider struggle for workers rights, in Australia and internationally.
International: Driving A Hard Bargain
Public sector workers in Korea are using the last twelve months before local and national elections � and the up-coming soccer World Cup � as bargaining chips in their campaign against privatisation of public utilities.
Review: In Bed With a Sub-Machine Gun
In this extract from his new book, Night Train to Granada, GB Harrision travels from Drepression era Newcastle to Spain under Franco's heel.
Satire: Whitlam Forgives Kerr: "At Least He Didn't Dismiss A Rape Victim"
Gough Whitlam claimed today that the man who dismissed him is no longer Australia�s worst Governor-General. �Sure he dismissed me, but at least he never dismissed a child rape victim like Governor-General Hollingworth,� said Whitlam.
Poetry: Dear Mother
Thanks to the generosity of the Defence Signals Directorate, Workers Online has obtained intercepts of recent communications between Australia and London. A transcript is below:
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 Labor Council of NSW
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L A T E S T N E W S |
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Unions Stats Snow Job
The Australian Bureau of statistics has released new figures showing a big increase in union membership in NSW, but no longer discloses how much more those unionists receive in pay.
Traditionally, the ABS released both surveys simultaneously but under Peter Reith and now Tony Abbott, the figures on pay have been delayed. [full story]
BHP Strike Over Super Control
Seventy two South Australian steel workers with BHP Billiton are in their second week of a strike over control of $600 million in their retirement savings.
Workers at BHP's Wingfield Service Centre in South Australia vowed to continue their strike after walking off the job last week. [full story]
Some Light Reflects Off Ansett
Australian workers are better off because of five and a half months of workplace activism in the battle to save Ansett.
While business, politicians and media commentators bemoan the airline�s demise, Transport Workers Union secretary Tony Sheldon, points out there is an upside.
[full story]
Net Porn Highlights Privacy Lag
Unions are condemning NSW Government moves to stand down without pay public servants accused of downloading net porn, while failing to act on the broader issue of online privacy in the workplace.
Premier Bob Carr made the announcement after being embarrassed by a report that three employees had been suspended for 18 months and their cases had still not been dealt with. [full story]
Mad Monk To Float Down Oxford Street
Trade unionists will march beside an effigy of Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott as they take a political message to the Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras parade.
Organisers describe the Abbott effigy as "a very lean version of Friar Tuck, with a strong influence of Mr Byrnes from the Simpsons, rosary beads, sack cloth and ashes". [full story]
Burma the Next Chernobyl
Burma�s decision to buy a nuclear reactor from Russia is the biggest threat to South East Asia, according to National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) chairman Bo Mya.
"The reasons the regime have given for buying the reactor are ridiculous. This military regime cannot even manage to feed or look after the basic health needs of its own people - yet they want to spend millions of dollars on a reactor," Bo Mya said. [full story]
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ALSO MAKING NEWS |
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Govt Breaches Its Own Guidelines
Sartor Policies Irk Council Workers
Service Fee Push Hots Up in Qld
Casino Workers Show Their Hands
Hotel Bosses Have Full House But Cry Poor
Airport Screeners Win Training Rights
CFMEU Korean Activist Honoured
Support For Fijian Union Battle
Beer Cold and Prawns Peeled
Activists Notebook
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The Soapbox
Grumpy Old Men (And Bettina)
Scratch the surface of most conservative commentators and you'll find a lapsed Leftie, Paul Norton argues. The Locker Room
Black and White
The Australian way of playing rugby union, cricket and the development of our own game, Australian Rules, were profoundly influenced by a forgotten man. Week in Review
Gridlocked
Jim Marr loooks at a week when trains, planes and ships of shame all threatened to come to a grinding halt.
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