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Issue No. 144 | 12 July 2002 |
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The Lotto Economy
Interview: Capital in Crisis Industrial: No Sweat Bad Boss: Super Spam History: Living Treasures International: Axis of Evil Solidarity: Pride of Place Technology: The Art of Cyber-Unionism Poetry: The Masochism Tango Satire: Foxtel-Optus Merger 'Anti-Repetitive' Review: Bob Carr's Thoughtlines
The Soapbox The Locker Room Bosswatch Postcard Week in Review
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News Bush Prepares for War on the Wharves
The Maritime Union of Australia says Bush is lending strong support to shipowners' efforts to dismantle effective international trade unionism, targeting the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union as part of an intense bid to further downgrade conditions of employment for dockworkers.
The ILWU is now facing an "enormous potential threat", according to the Maritime Union of Australia, which is urging NSW unions to show solidarity during the coming struggle.
MUA central NSW branch secretary Robert Coombs says the ILWU gave "tremendous support to Australian maritime workers during the Patrick dispute, including their action against the 'Columbus Canada' where the scab-loaded vessel was sent back to New Zealand during the dispute to be discharged and loaded again by union labour".
Unionists are invited to send emails of support to the ILWU at: [email protected] Not Immigration Officials Transport workers should not be expected to be immigration officers when confronted with asylum seekers attempting to cross borders, a meeting of European transport trade unionists heard this week. At a meeting convened by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), trade union delegates from France, Belgium and the UK met to discuss the particular problem of asylum seekers attempting to cross the English Channel by rail link, but delegates from maritime, railway and airline unions also contributed their experiences. Delegates expressed concern that states, like the UK, imposed fines on transport companies if asylum seekers managed to cross borders using their transport. To avoid fines, companies have asked their employees to prevent asylum seekers boarding, effectively making them immigration officers. In road transport, sometimes fines have been passed onto workers themselves. Delegates also said the safety and well being of transport workers was being put at risk. Some had had to witness horrific accidents involving asylum seekers attempting to board transport. Others had been threatened by desperate asylum seekers fearing their attempt to cross a border would be prevented. The meeting heard that it was a failure of governments to deal effectively and humanely with asylum seekers that was contributing to problems for transport workers.
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