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Issue No. 146 26 July 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

Crean-ite Is Not A Dirty Word
Amongst the economic fundamentalists within Paul Keating's office, to be a Crean-ite was the ultimate insult. Today as their vision of an unregulated economic paradise gets the death wobbles, it should be worn as a badge of honour.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Trans Tasman
The head of the New Zealand trade union movement, Paul Goulter, outlines the importance of this weekend's Kiwi elections

Cole-Watch: The Full Story
In 20 years mainstream journalism around New Zealand, the UK and Australia, Jim Marr has never witnessed anything like the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry.

Unions: The Right To A Life
In the wake of this week's Reasonable Hours decision, it�s time to once again civilise working time, writes Noel Hester.

Bad Boss: Phoenix Rising
Eddie Lombardo just noses out fellow Royal Commission star Ferdinando Sanna for this week�s Bad Boss nomination.

Politics: The Virtuous State
Following Tasmania's first position in The State of the States 2002, the ALP stormed home in the State poll, reports Christopher Sheil.

International: The Champions
They may be top of the world's football pile, but Brazil also has the dubious honour of 50 million living in poverty, writes Mark Weisbrot

History: Mandatory Mums
Women had been in revolt against �compulsory motherhood� for many years prior to the introduction of The Pill in the 1960s, Neale Towart discovers.

Corporate: Network Governance
A new way to govern public or private sector organisations is becoming urgent as society becomes more complex and dynamic, writes Shann Turnbull.

Review: Navigating The Doublespeak
How can you show a workforce the truth behind managerial doublespeak when the promise of big bucks is wooing them from their collective ideals? Offer them free tickets to Ken Loach's The Navigators and watch the penny drop.

Satire: Hector The Galah Found Hiding
Hector the Galah who was thought to have been stolen from West Ryde has been found hiding on the roof of a building in Surry Hills. He has resisted all attempts to capture him but when interviewed told the following story.

Poetry: Eight Days a Week
This week the Industrial Relations Commission came down with a decision in the reasonable hours case which, while a long way from what the ACTU wanted, could give a bit of steel to workers who want to take back what's theirs.

N E W S

 League to Blow Whistle on Sweat Shops

 Rados Shames Ruddock Into Action

 Virgin Contracts Spark Wage Rage

 Jobs, Cargo Sail Over Horizon

 Reasonable Hours Call to Arms

 Big Tobacco Turns to Union-Busting

 Athens Workers Pay Ultimate Price

 Cranes At Risk in �August Winds�

 Abbott�s Savings To Cost Workers

 Trades Hall Revamp On Track

 Top Nurse Bows Out

 Name Caller Back to Work

 Congo Unionists Need Help

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Crossing the Divide
Former Liberal PM Malcolm Fraser made history addressing the AMWU national conference on an issue of mutual concern - the treatment of asylum seekers

The Locker Room
Lounge Named Best On Ground
The latest casualty of corporate sport is the loyal spectator on the hill, writes Phil Doyle

Postcard
Appeasing Morocco Is Dangerous
Kamel Fadel updates on the latest developments in West Sahara's battle for independence.

Week in Review
Save the Last Dance ...
Labor and the Democrats swap places for the next dance at the political tango, while across the ditch, those darned Kiwis show big brother how it�s done � again!

Bosswatch
Walls Come Tumbling Down
It was a week of carnage on the markets � and for a few former corporate high-fliers it was even uglier. Justice? Or just a system in decay?

L E T T E R S
 No Need To Import IT Workers
 Kangaroo Court Horrifies Reader
 Site Reunites Redundant Workers
 Carr Off Course
 The Banners of Greed
 Join The Party
 Shocks and Stares
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Letters to the Editor

No Need To Import IT Workers


I just read an article in another paper that says the Australian government will no longer give priority visa processing to foreign IT workers since there is a tech downturn in Australia.

With so many Australian tech workers unemployed, it makes no sense to import more. I am writing to applaud this decision by your government. Here in the United States there is a law to let US companies bring in close to 200,000 high tech workers per year.

There never was a shortage of tech workers in this country, and last year we lost more than half a million tech jobs. Yet companies are still importing workers!

They are using the law to bring in labor that will work for half what Americans were earning and will work without benefits that Americans have earned.

The line about "the best and the brightest" is a crock. A US government study showed that more than 40% of the resumes of these tech workers could not be verified and of those that they could check, a good many were outright fakes.

My husband and many of his co-workers (computer programmers) lost their jobs this year when their company replaced them with foreign visa holders. My husband was required to stay for six months to train his replacement or forfeit severance pay and other benefits. His company came right out and said they made this move to boost profits.

Now we have lost our health insurance and my husband is collecting unemployment pay. He has not been able to find a job, depite sending out many hundreds of resumes.

To the people in your government who still think it's a great idea to import workers to replace Australians, think about this: Workers without jobs do not pay taxes, they do not buy consumer goods and they do not invest money.

On the contrary, they become a burden to society when they have need of government services to survive.

Sincerely,

Linda Evans


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