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

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Peak Performance

As unions switch their focus from servicing individual members to organizing workplaces, the question is how do peak bodies change their activities to match this change in focus?

Peak councils have traditionally played the role of industrial deal-maker - the link between individual unions and government where the issues are crunched and a compromise forged.

The high point of this model was undoubtedly the Accord years where the ACTU struck wage and social agreements for the entire workforce. Individual officials had never been as powerful - nor had they ever been as removed from rank and file workers.

But the world has moved on from the Accord and the new challenge for peak bodies is how to remain an effective contact with government while shifting focus, along with affiliates, closer to the workplace.

Some clues may come from the USA where the sort of labour market deregulation that is challenging Australian unionism has become entrenched.

There, peak bodies play a role far broader than just industrial gate-keeper. The best labor councils research and develop their own social policy and use their grassroots networks to see them implemented.

They also develop extensive community ties, with some peak councils having databases of more than 10,000 supporters who commit to supporting union campaigns.

In return unions get involved in broader community issues such as development - not dissimilar to the ground-breaking Green Bans implemented by the BLF 1970s.

They also realize that for the movement to grow, individuals Locals must grow. On one level this is up to the Local but peak bodies can help by training organizers, generating broader campaigns across industry and creating the community context for unions to grow.

Politically, the peak council choose candidates who commit to a union agenda and commit resources to see these champions elected to public office.

Of course there are differences; politicians have free votes rather than binding caucuses and voluntary voting means the value of mobilising an electorate is greater.

But that said the notion of unions committing resources to developing their own broad agenda and then hand-picking candidates to implement it has appeal - particularly as the ALP moves to break the institutional bonds that have delivered it broad union support.

If ACTU research showing that workers feel ignored by all political parties and are crying out for an advocate for them is anything to go by it's a shift the general public - and not just union members - will embrace.

Peter Lewis

Editor

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Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005