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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.
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'.
 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
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.
Miranda's Not Fair on Outworkers
Another Capitalist Party?
Justice For All?
Kill the Photos!
Right Wing Lackies
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News
Email Protection Hits Firewall
Hopes that NSW workers would be protected from bosses snooping on their emails have hit a constitutional firewall with advice that state laws would not be valid.
Attorney General Bob Debus has told Workers Online he's received advice from the Crown Solicitor that the Constitution precludes the states making legislation with respect to email.
"The framers of the Constitution did not consider the issue of emails, and, frankly, I envy them," Debus said.
But he's seeking a second legal opinion and says if the state laws are invalid he will put a proposition to the Commonwealth through the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) the have the matter addressed nationally.
If that opinion rejects the initial advice, Debus says he'll include the email provisions in legislation to go to state Parliament before the end of the year.
The NSW Law Reform report into Privacy recommended the government legislate a code covering email surveillance modeled on the existing Video Surveillance Act. It outlaws covert surveillance unless an employer can show reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing before snooping on workers.
Email protection has been one of the key commitments made to the union movement by Premier Bob Carr at this year's Labor Council Annual General Meeting.
New Workplace Rights Package
Regardless of the outcome of the email legal advice, Debus has vowed to conasolidate all existing laws on workplace privacy into a single piece of legislation.
Debus says the legislation would incorporate the "best bits" of the Listening Devices Act, and the Workplace Video Surveillance Act, while addressing some the areas that currently don't work so well.
"That new legislation, which I hope to bring forward in the next session of Parliament, will cover areas like tracking devices, the idea of participant monitoring, complaint handling procedures," Debus says.
"We could also say some more about strengthening the requirements concerning hidden cameras that are already otherwise covered."
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Issue 148 contents
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