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Not So Happy Campers
It's a crude political truism: it's better to be inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in. At least for those on the inside.
Interview: Pulling the Pin
Victorian union leader Dean Mighell outlines the thinking behind his decision to quit the ALP and join the Greens.
International: At the Crossroads
From Germany, to Britain, to South Africa, Canada and the USA it seems union members are turning on their political partners � and talking about divorce.
Unions: A Case Of Lost Identity
Victorian Trades Hall secretary Leigh Hubbard warns that more unions could leave the ALP if the current policy review hits the wrong note.
History: Rocking the Foundations
There was not just one model of what a political wing of the labour movement should be, Don Rawson writes.
Industrial: Rocky Road
Thirteen hundred Rockhampton workers are putting cars and houses on the line in an effort to beat off bully-boy tactics from Kerry Packer-owned Consolidated Meat Group.
Economics: Cracking a Coldie
As Australian icons fall around him, Neale Towart charts the rise and fall of the Great Aussie Esky.
Poetry: The Right Was Wrong
A glimpse of history shows that waterfront workers deserve the high moral ground.
Satire: Heffernan�s Evidence Conclusive: Proves He's An Idiot
The evidence released by Senator Bill Heffernan to substantiate his allegations against Justice Kirby have proved conclusively that the senator is an idiot.
Review: Upstairs, Downstairs
Robert Altman's latest movie Gosford Park is hard yakka no matter what side of the class system you sit on.
 Giant Rat Fights Cole Commission
Dodgy Bosses To Get Life
Unions Back Rugby World Cup
Queue Jumper Abbott In Cash Grab
Refugees Face Bank Imbalance
Guards Act to Plug Leaks
Rabbit Fence Leads Reconciliation to Classroom
Spy Bill Under Fire
Council Takes Up Discrimination Challenge
Power Workers To Decide Own Fate
Thumbs Up for Super Deal
G-G Warned Off State Schools
Fee Pressure Builds on Beattie
Nobel Committee 'Subordinates' Union Rights
Columbians Level Death Charges
Call To Blockade Burmese Junta
Indonesian Threat To Unions
Activist Notebook
The Soapbox
Dealing with Prejudice
Former Liberal senator Chris Puplick did not pull any punches launching a new guide for union reps dealing with discrimination issues. The Locker Room
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall
Phil Doyle tries to get sport off the front pages and back where it belongs ... Postcard
Greetings From Lao
In the first in a new series, Union Aid Abroad's Phillip Hazelton, reports from Lao, where he is establishing a vocational training centre. Cole-Watch
Go West
The Building Industry Royal Commission caravan has rolled into Perth. Week in Review
Top of the Pops
Johnny Howard and his Masters of Deception kept the beat during a week in which secrecy took over from blatant fibbing as the dark art or choice, leaving the national Hit Parade looking something like this �
Letter to Howard #1
Letter to Howard #2
Letter to Howard #3
Jump Before You're Pushed
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News
Call To Blockade Burmese Junta
International unions are renewing calls for the world to act against oppression in Burma.
In the 21 months since ILO condemnation of forced labour in Burma, whilst a number of companies have taken action, not a single government has implemented mandatory economic measures against the miliatry regime.
The brutality continues virtually unabated. An ILO mission to Burma in February this year failed to reach agreement with the junta on the establishment of a permanent investigative office in the country.
The failure follows an ICFTU report on Burma from November 2001, which revealed forced labour continuing on a "massive" scale. Rangoon, however, has just accepted the posting of an ILO liaison person in Burma, from June.
The ICFTU welcomes this step but stresses that, according to the terms of the agreement approved today, the posting of this liaison officer is only a first step toward a permanent and effective ILO presence, "with all means necessary at its disposal to achieve the complete eradication of forced labour in the country".
Meanwhile, the ICFTU is calling on governments to refuse to extend export credits to companies involved with exporting to Burma. It is urging governments to ban new investments in Burma by multinational enterprises based in their countries, on the grounds that all trade and investment in the country constitutes financial support to the military junta.
ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder denounced the international ambivalence, stating that "Burma is being let off the hook by the international community, and foreign investment is propping up a junta that has no right to exist in the 21st century."
The ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories. It is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org
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Issue 129 contents
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