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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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Letters to the Editor

Miranda's Not Fair on Outworkers


Who's Lying about the Clothing Industry?

The Big Lie is that all outworkers in the clothing industry receive $13 per hour. Is there more truth from the mouth of one Vietnamese boss who is benefiting from the exploitation of outworkers, as Miranda Devine claims in her opinion piece today, than in years of formal research and

public inquiries?

The Fair Wear campaign was launched after the Federal Senate Inquiry into Outwork in the clothing industry and an extensive two month multi-lingual outworker phone-in revealed extensive exploitation of outworkers in the clothing industry.

In the subsequent NSW Pay Equity Inquiry the commissioner went into outworkers' homes and heard directly about rates of pay between $2 and $5 per hour. This is supported in subsequent research by Mayhew and

Quinlan into outworkers' occupational health and safety; and the Federal Clothing Award simplification case. Just to name a few.

Fair Wear does not deny that some outworkers receive rates of pay closer to their award entitlements, but this is the exception to the rule.

Fair Wear is an active and committed member of the NSW Ethical Clothing Trades Council, where we are working with industry players to develop a workable system for addressing the exploitation. Positive developments are occurring in this process and Fair Wear is pleased to be part of it.

The Institute of Public Affairs report appears to be a desperate attempt to stop regulation which the clothing industry itself acknowledges is necessary. It is the IPA report that is being produced over and over again to justify a lie which in reality cannot stand up to the huge body of evidence that contradicts it.

Debbie Carstens

Chairperson, NSW Fair Wear

****************

Miranda Devine should have examined the evidence better before she wrote her article attacking Fairwear.

Ms Devine does not consider the evidence that is available to support the TCFU and Fairwear claims. In 1999, when the Australian Industrial Relations Commission heard a case about whether certain clauses should be kept in the award, the evidence of the TCFU was conceded and there was no cross examination. Part of that evidence was about wages and conditions. Part was about the violence and intimidation that outworkers experience in the industry. None of the evidence was contested, even when one shocked Commissioner questioned whether the reported intimidation really goes on in Australia. All parties, including the government and the suppliers conceded the evidence as true. Evidence about outworkers has also been tested and accepted by a senate committee inquiry.

The Uniting Church in Australia is one of the organizations that funds Fairwear. This is public knowledge through our website and reports. We see Fairwear as an important campaign about a fundamental issue of justice. It advocates a system to ensure the payment of award wages, the fulfilment of a legal requirement. Instead of silly, slanderous and dishonest claims that we are motivated by "hatred of capitalism", the IPA and Miranda Devine should contemplate the many business writers who recognise that business flourishes best where the rule of law is respected. They might remember that a system that guarantees that everyone pays award wages actually creates a level playing field and eliminates unfair competition within the Australian industry.

My impression from several of Miranda Devine's articles is that she takes the Catholic faith seriously. Perhaps she might spend some time reading the Catholic Social Teaching, which insists that workers must be paid adequate wages and need protection by the state against unscrupulous employers. When she has done this, and read the legal cases and Hansard testimony about outworkers, she might salvage her professional reputation as a journalist by writing an adequately informed article about the garment industry, outworkers, and Fairwear.

(Rev. Dr.) Ann Wansbrough


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