The Official Organ of LaborNET
click here to view the latest edition of Workers Online
The Official Organ of LaborNET
Free home delivery
Issue No. 154 27 September 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

War On The Collective
While Saddam Hussein is the primary target of George W Bush�s ham-fisted crusade to destroy a noun, the United Nations is also under its heaviest attack in its 57 years.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Still Flying
Flight Attendant�s Association international secretary Johanna Brem looks at life in the air since last September�s terrorist attacks.

International: President Gas
NSW Firefighter�s president Darryl Snow sent this missive to his members on the anniversary of a day when 343 of their colleagues died in the line of duty.

Politics: Australia: A Rogue State?
ARM director Greg Barnes argues that September 11 has summoned a new era of isolationism and international lawlessness.

Unions: Welfare Max
Maximus Inc is big, American and controversial. Right now its knocking on the door of Australian welfare delivery and there is every chance the Howard Government will usher it inside, reports Jim Marr.

Bad Boss: Welcome to Telstra!
A Telstra call centre has joined the race for Bad Boss after sacking a pregant woman who had the audacity to need to use the toilet.

Health: Fat Albert: The Grim Reaper
Workers Online's cultural dietician Mark Morey chews the fat over this week's conference on child obesity

Satire: Iraq Pre-empts Pre-emptive Strike
Saddam Hussein has launched a pre-emptive strike on the United States to prevent it from pre-emptively striking Iraq first.

Poetry: A Man From the East And A Man From The West
Resident Bard David Peetz has penned this ode to the sacked Hilton hotel workers

Review: The Sum Of All Fears
Tara de Boehmler checks in to see that America�s cultural cringe is alive, well and sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes

N E W S

 Unions Join Anti-War Chorus

 ACM Fails Port Hedland Report

 Abbott Adds Fuel to Bias Case

 Murray�s Millions Dwarfs Workers Wages

 Rogue MP Faces Grassroots Backlash

 Harry Bridges Speaks from the Grave

 Councils Deny Multi-Lingual Workers

 US Rabbi Fights Lowy Malls

 Ansett Ticket Levy Not Reaching Workers

 Something Stinks at the Zoo

 Virgin in Delegate Situation

 Pampas Workers Baste Boss

 International Shame for Aussie IR

 Sydney Trade Talks Face Backlash

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

Legends
Gough's Plaza
Labor's living legend challenged NSW Labor to lift its game as he attended a renaming of 2KY House to Gough Whitlam Plaza.

The Locker Room
Support The System That Supports You
This system is a certainty, a moral, a good thing and a knocktaker; well, at least according to Phil Doyle

Bosswatch
RIP Chainsaw Al
One of the heroes of corporate downsizing has been cut down but his memory lives on with golden handshakes for leaders of failed businesses still thick on the ground.

Awards
The Importance of Being Ernie
It was the tenth annual �Ernie� Awards for sexist behaviour and Labor Council�s Alison Peters was amongst the noisy punters

Week in review
Lest We Forget
You can�t help a sneaking suspicion, Jim Marr writes, that George Bush is conscripting the dead of September 11, 2001, to lead his push for another war in the Gulf�

Activists
Workers Out!
Gay and Lesbian trade unionists are organising an international conference to develop a global response to homophobia in the workplace, writes Ryan Heath

L E T T E R S
 The Shame (Sham) of the Democratic Party
 Weapons of Destruction
 Tears From Tom
 Good Hearts
WHAT YOU CAN DO
About Workers Online
Latest Issue
Print Latest Issue
Previous Issues
Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation


Labor for Refugees

BossWatch



News

Councils Deny Multi-Lingual Workers


NSW local government councils face concerted action by workers who use foreign languages at work to have these skills recognised with higher wages.

The Municipal Employees Unions has launched the campaign continue to force councils to pay the Community Language Allowance to workers who use more than one language.

The MEU won the Allowance in 2000 but a recent audit of councils shows that many are still not paying the extra money to multi-lingual workers.

Launching a campaign to secure the payments this week, MEU General Secretary Brian Harris says "it's time the freeloading Council's acknowledged their responsibility to both the community and their workforce by paying the allowance."

"It is a disgrace that some councils believe it is acceptable to abuse staff with additional language skills in this way," Harris says.

"While some councils are proud to provide this service to their residents and value the contribution made by the staff who assist, there are those that continue to refuse to pay and it is these councils that we will be talking to - and taking to court if we have to."

The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 requires councils to provide equal access to services to all residents, regardless of the language spoken.

MEU research shows that council workers across NSW are using their own language skills, therefore allowing councils to meet this vital service obligation. The language skills used are diverse and include over 30 languages ranging from Arabic to Tamil to Greek.

The councils that have been audited include Blacktown, Burwood, Botany Bay, Holroyd, Parramatta, Queanbeyan, Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield and Willoughby. A separate audit is also being conducted on the City of Sydney Enterprise Agreement provisions.


------

*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 154 contents



email workers to a friend printer-friendly version latest breaking news from labornet


Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/154/news72_meu.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

Powered by APT Solutions
Labor Council of NSW Workers Online
LaborNET