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Issue No. 148 16 August 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

Peak Performance
Leaders of the NSW trade union movement gathered this week to consider the role of their peak council in an increasingly deregulated labour market.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Labor Law
NSW Attorney General Bob Debus expands on how he's bought a Labor agenda to the justice system

Unions: Critical Conditions
Jim Marr looks at one man's story to expose the workers compensdation rorts that are rife in the building industry

Bad Boss: Shifting The Load
Barminco, the biggest mine operator in Tasmania, has put its name forward for a Tony after being labeled the �boss from hell�.

History: Peeking Out
As unions push for workplace privacy, Neale Towart argues that its not just employers who might be peeking.

Safety: Flying High
Blaming the individual worker has always been at the heart of calls for random drug and alcohol testing, Neal Towart reports.

Corporate: Salaries High, Performance Low
As part of Labor Council's inquiry into executive pay, Bosswatch's Chris Owen has compiled this overview.

International: War on the US Wharves
Thousands of US dockworkers held rallies this week up and down America�s West Coast as well as in Hawaii, as the Bush Administration threatened to break one of America�s most powerful unions by using troopers as strike breakers.

Review: And the Signs Said...
Philip Farruggio argues the new horror flick 'The Signs' has a subtext that should resonate with working families.

Poetry: Tony Don't Preach
Melbourne car park attendant and LHMU delegate Tony Duras rewrote the Madonna and Kelly Osbourne hit Papa Don�t Preach.

Satire: Latham Dumps Rodney Rude as Speech Writer
ALP front-bencher, Mark Latham has fired speech writer Rodney Rude after calling the Prime Minister an 'arse-licker'.

N E W S

 Qantas Dressed Down Over Uniform Backflip

 Virgin Threatens Delegate Over Net Use

 Email Protection Hits Firewall

 Yarra Gets Rowdy Welcome Home

 Cole Snubs Injured Worker

 Victorian System Needs Reform: AIRC

 First NEST Payout to Workers

 Qld Public Sector Battle Heats Up

 Community Workers Eye Canberra Show Down

 Lift Techs Face Redundancy Lock Out

 Council Workers Win Picnic Day Fight

 School Support Staff Demand Recongition

 Black Chicks Talk At Refuge Fundraiser

 Colombian Left MP Applying For Asylum

 Activist Notebook

C O L U M N S

Politics
Colour By Numbers
Labor council secretary John Robertson argues that the 60-40 debate ignores the real changes necessary in the ALP.

The Soapbox
Peas in a Pod
ACTU President Sharan Burrow gives her take on the new fetish for Public-Private Partnerships

The Locker Room
Go Dogs Go
As a student of form, Phil Doyle discovers that the Greyhounds are coming up in class and are all the better for recent racing.

Bosswatch
Rayland And Other Adventures
More evidence emerges in the HIH Royal Commission of the joys of life at the Top End of Town.

Human Rights
Tampa Day
Monday 26th August is no celebration, but the first anniversary of a National Shame should be recognised, writes Amanda Tattersall.

L E T T E R S
 Miranda's Not Fair on Outworkers
 Another Capitalist Party?
 Justice For All?
 Kill the Photos!
 Right Wing Lackies
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Bad Boss

Shifting The Load


Barminco, the biggest mine operator in Tasmania, has put its name forward for a Tony after being labeled the �boss from hell�.

Australian Workers Union industrial officer, Robert Flannagan, coined the phrase on the first day of a State Industrial Relations Commission hearing which workers hope will bring the WA-based contractor back into line.

Around 250 Tasmanians, employed at tin, copper, zinc and gold mines on the state's west coast, have been disadvantaged by a string of Barminco assaults on their wages and conditions.

Flannagan estimates that the unilateral company actions could cost individuals as much as $600 a week.

Company stunts include:

- regularly paying workers late, one employee having to wait three weeks for access to his wages.

- slashing around $200 from the fortnightly wage by removing a negotiated shift bonus without any discussion or consultation.

- introducing a new sick leave policy that can sting employees as much as $330 for a single day off. What? Well, in mining, much income comes from bonuses. At Barminco sites, workers earn a $30 a day attendance bonus which workers on sick leave have traditionally forfeited. The company, however, now slugs them for each of the 10 or 11 shifts in the pay period, if they are absent for a single day.

- making workers pay for damage to machinery. According to the company, they have a choice - pay up or find another job.

Flannagan relates the story of one mine worker who had accepted a company bill of $10,000 for damage to a loader, even though he hadn't been responsible.

"He had agreed to pay $10,000 rather than lose his job," Flannagan explained.

After the union became involved, and put his case, it was agreed that the worker had not been responsible for the incident in the first place.

The AWU has been trying to have Barminco pull its head in over these issues since January.

True to form, Barminco didn't show up for its day before the Tasmanian Commission, sending along an Australian Mines and Metals Association legal consultant who couldn't deal with the issues, instead.

The case has been rescheduled for August 27 and 28 in Queenstown.

In a separate claim, the AWU is arguing that a worker was sacked unfairly after he was denied a rest break and, suffering fatigue, crashed a company truck.

It highlights the way Barminco operates that, having signed an enterprise agreement at one of its Tasmanian mines, it then insisted on new employees being hired under the terms of indiviual agreements.

"Really, they don't want any union or collective activity on their sites," Flannagain says.

"This company is the employer from hell, with its unyielding pursuit of profits showing a complete disregard for the needs of employees and their families."

The company, owned by Perth-based Peter Bartlett, is this week's nominee for the Tony Award which Labor Council will present to workers employed by the worst boss notified to Workers Online.


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