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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
VTHC Urges Compassion For Colombian Refugees
The Federal Government has been urged to reconsider its decision to refuse four Columbian refugees and their families visas to enter Australia following the killing of Columbian activist Alvaro Morales by paramilitary forces on his return to Colombia recently.
VTHC Secretary Leigh Hubbard has condemned the government's decision to deny Mr Morales refugee status and fears that the lives of 10 Colombian refugees currently in El Salvador may also be at risk.
"The killing of Mr Morales sends a wake up call to the Australian Government. Over 250 unionists have been either murdered or disappeared in Colombia over the past 2 years, Mr Hubbard said.
Attorney-General Daryl Williams has denied that Australia bears any responsibility for the death of Mr Morales as he did not qualify for refugee states under the United Nations Convention on Refugees.
Mr Morales who had been living in Australia for several years was also denied refugee status in Argentina before returning to Colombia. The VTHC asks how many people must die before a civilised and compassionate approach is taken to refugees in this country.
Mr Hubbard said the plight of the 10 people currently seeking Australian visas from El Salvador must be reconsidered in light of the recent tragedy surrounding Mr Morales.
"This group of 10 people, which includes 5 children, have applied to come to Australia as refugees, but have been denied visas despite being granted refugee status by the UNHCR. Their situation in El Salvador is precarious as they find themselves under threat of being sent back to Colombia where their lives will be in danger," Mr Hubbard said.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Julia Gillard has raised the plight of the Colombian refugees with Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock's office at the request of the VTHC and ACTU. Ms Gillard has not received a positive response.
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Issue 156 contents
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