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Work and the Meaning of Life
The high-profile case of Kamal El-Masiri takes the debate over the intersection of work and family onto an altogether higher plane.
Interview: The Wet One
NSW Opposition industrial relations spokesman Michael Gallacher stakes out his relationship with the union movement.
Bad Boss: Like A Bastard
Virgin Mobile is sexy and funky, right? Well, only if those terms have become synonyms for dictatorial or downright mean.
Unions: Demolition Derby
Tony Abbott likens industrial relations to warfare and, like a good general should, he is about to shift his point of attack – from building sites to car plants, reports Jim Marr.
Corporate: The Bush Doctrine
For the powerful, consumerism equals freedom, and is all the freedom we need, writes James Goodman
Politics: American Jihad
Let’s get real. The origins of modern Islamic terrorist groups are in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Langley, Virginia not Baghdad, argues Noel Hester.
Health: Secret Country
Oral history recordings are an inadequate tool in trying to find out what happened to Aboriginal stockmen and their communities on cattle stations in Northern Australia, writes Neale Towart
Review: Walking On Water
On the 20th anniversary of the first AIDS-related death, Tara de Boehmler witnesses the aftermath of losing a loved one to the illness in Walking On Water.
Culture: TCF
Novelist Anthony Macris captures life on the shop floor in this extract from his upcoming novel, Capital Volume II
Poetry: The UQ Stonewall
The University of Queensland has sought to join the ranks of union-busting companies like Rio Tinto in trying to sack the president of the local union - and made the mistake of thinking they were dealing with an array of acquiescent academics.
 Muslims Snubbed in Discrimination Laws
Workplace Racism Rife Post S11
Mad Monk’s World In Turmoil
Qantas Directors Bust Wages Freeze
Deregistration on Cole Agenda
Aussie Wharfies Save Farmers
Victorian Libs Block Pay Rise
Dad’s the Word For Steelworkers
Funeral Workers Dig in Their Heels
Unions Expose Truth Of McDonalds’ People Promise
Gay and Lesbians Workers To Meet
VTHC Urges Compassion For Colombian Refugees
New Zealand Workers Win Paid Parental Leave
WorkCover Inspectors Off the Road
Mine Guards Shoot Own Workers
Unions On Call For Working Young
Activists Notebook
The Soapbox
I Walk The Line
American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has weighed into the Hilton Hotel dispute with this special message to the workforce. Postcard
Mekong Daze
Union Aid Abroad's Phil Hazelton fires off a missive from Laos where he is spending a year working with the community. Month In Review
Bush Whackers
It was a month where the world teetered on the brink of peace, no thanks to the leader of the free world, writes Jim Marr The Locker Room
The Laws Of Gravity
Phil Doyle goes looking for the fine line that separates sport from an exercise in time-wasting Bosswatch
Snouts in the Trough
It’s AGM season in the corporate world, and deal after shady deal is being exposed as highfliers treat company accounts like the proverbial honey-pot. Wobbly
Songs of Solidarity
There has been a proud history of pro-worker tunes dating back to the early days of the 20th century, which will be continued in a new CD, writes Dan Buhagiar.
Who Is Farmhand?
Direct Voting Rights
Iraq is a Gobalisation Issue Too
Letter to George Dubya
WTO and Schools
Casual Thought
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News
Unions Expose Truth Of McDonalds’ People Promise
McDonalds union activists from around the world are this week meeting with members of the European Parliament to examine the truth behind its so-called ‘People Promise’.
The multinational's claim to being "the best employer in each community around the world" will be compared with its actual performance in undermining workers' rights through its union bashing tactics.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions multinational specialist Dwight Justice says the main message to be brought to the table will be that "just because corporations claim to be socially responsible doesn't mean that they actually are".
"The demonstrated hypocrisy of McDonald's in this respect makes it clear that companies shouldn't be allowed to dictate the rules on corporate social responsibility," he says.
The activists will also alert parliament to the necessity of scrutinising the many ways in which large franchise operations can undermine workers' rights.
McDonalds can often avoid dealing with unions because 80% of its restaurants are franchises and are considered to be independently owned, they say. But the activists claim the strict terms under which McDonald's franchises must operate effectively produce situations where McDonald's, and not the franchisees, seems to be dictating policy on working conditions and wages.
The European Parliament will also hear how McDonald's:
* destroyed a union in Moscow, even after the authorities had forced the company to sign a collective agreement with it.
* closed a restaurant in Germany in order to avoid dealing with a works council
* misuses the law to prevent unions from being established in the Philippines
For more information, visit: http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991216551&Language=EN
 McDonalds' Union Website
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Issue 156 contents
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