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Issue No. 126

01 March 2002

E D I T O R I A L

I Don�t Like Sprouts
I've always thought brussel sprouts tasted like reconstituted vomit, so the latest smart-arse advertising campaign for the Clearview pension fund doesn�t really wash with me.

F E A T U R E S

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:

N E W S

Unions Stats Snow Job

BHP Strike Over Super Control

Some Light Reflects Off Ansett

Net Porn Highlights Privacy Lag

Mad Monk To Float Down Oxford Street

Burma the Next Chernobyl

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

C O L U M N S

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.

L E T T E R S

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.

An ACTU spokesman says it's a case of political interference designed to hide the benefits of union membership.

"The statistics clearly show union members receive more pay," he says. "There is an obvious political advantage in separating this from the statistics on union membership."

Big Gains in NSW

The ABS data showed the number of union members rose marginally to 1,902,700 from 1,901,800, with an overall union density rate of 24.5%.

Of all the states, NSW had the biggest increase, picking up some 23,000 new members in the 12 month period - increasing the density from 25.7 per cent to 26.4 per cent.

"This is an encouraging sign for NSW," Labor Council secretary John Robertson says. "The increase correlates with Labor Council's commitment to pursuing an organising agenda.

"Over the coming months we will be conducting research to further grow the movement through strategically targeting large workplaces with low union density.

National Numbers Up for Second Year Running

Nationally, the slight gain in members to more than 1.9 million people reflected increases in union density rates in both the public and private sectors, ACTU President Sharan Burrow says.

"We are particularly heartened by the increase in both net membership and density rates in key growth areas of the economy like accommodation, cafes, restaurants, transport, storage and communications and recreation, cultural and personal services."

"Significant growth in both membership and density rates has also been achieved among the growing proportion of casual and part-time employees in the workforce. A welcome increase is also recorded in the number of women union members.

"The long term trend of declining union membership appears to have stabilised, with two years of net growth for the first time in more than a decade and increases in union density in key sectors of the economy," Ms Burrow said.

The membership growth follows an increased focus by the ACTU and many unions on grass roots workplace activity and organisation in accordance with the unions@work strategy launched by ACTU Secretary Greg Combet in 1999.

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