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Issue No. 159 01 November 2002  
 
F E A T U R E S

Interview: Life After Keating
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd looks at the world and wonders what might have been ...

Industrial: That Friday Feeling
Anthony Stavropoulos has been working six days a week for the last eight years and now he wants his weekends back. �Remember that Friday feeling?� he asks. �You just don�t get that anymore.�

Bad Boss: Begging to Work
They may put themselves about as the Saints of the Fourth Estate, but bosses at the Big Issue Magazine have been nominated by their own vendors for this month�s Tony award.

Organising: Project Pilbara
Sydney University�s Bradon Ellem reports on how unions are bouncing back in Rio territory

Unions: Off the Rails
The Federal Government is attempting to turn NSW Railways into a political football with a proposal that threatens the safety of freight and passenger trains in NSW and life in our rail Towns, writes Phil Doyle.

International: Brazil Turns Left
Union stalwarts throughout the American hemisphere are cheering the election of Lula � the peanut seller and shoeshine boy, turned union leader - who has been elected as the first working-class President of Brazil.

Environment: Brown Wash
Stuart Rosewarn argues the Johannesburg Sunmmit was a gripping showcase of Australia�s lack of a strategic vision.

History Special: Learning from the Past
Ray Markey looks at union membership growth in the 1880s & 1900s to argue that today�s unions must engage to grow.

Corporate: Will the Bullying Backfire?
Job insecurity, unemployment, a growing gap between rich and poor, massive global poverty and environmental danger are the big issues for the protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Sydney.

Technology: Danger Lurks For The Passive
If unions fail to exploit opportunities on the web to gain members, other organisations are likely to fill the void and provide services to workers on the internet.

History: In Labour�s Image
Neale Towart looks at a long-overdue initiative to around NSW through the eyes of the workers.

Politics: Without Power Or Glory
South Coast contributor Rowan Cahill gives his take on the Cunningham by-election result.

History Special: A 'Cosy Relationship'
Barbara Webster looks at Rockhampton between 1916 � 1957 to debunk the �dependence� theory of trade union growth.

Culture: Blood Stains the Wattle
Former Queensland Treasurer Keith De Lacey has turned up in print with a rollicking tale of life during the famous Mt Isa strike of the 60s.

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: The Executive Pay Cut
Executives accepting pay freezes, or even pay cuts? This outrageous proposal has been put on the table by some capitalists themselves, and taken up by our bard.

Review: Time Out
When a family man invents a new life after losing his steady job, Tara de Boehmler watches his charade escalate until there is no turning back.

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L A T E S T   N E W S

Bargaining Fees In the Dock
An employer bid to outlaw bargaining fees in NSW could backfire, with the Carr Government for the first time publicly endorsing the right of unionists to negotiate these clauses in enterprise agreements.

The State Government has told the NSW Industrial Relations Commission that bargaining fees are an �industrial matter� that should be decided by the parties at a workplace level.  [full story]

Deadly �Slave Labour� Racket Exposed
International unions have swung into action to investigate an African based �slave labour� racket that has been exposed after the death of two workers at Lake Cargellico in the state�s west.

The bizarre tale of a black South African worker who entered the country on a business visa, but working for $100 per month on the state government-subsidised site has raised fundamental questions about Australia�s working visa system.  [full story]

Zoo Workers Buck Indecent Proposal
Protracted strike action looms at Taronga Zoo with workers sick of a management regime which links pay rises to their ability to coax animals in their care into procreating.

Workers say this week front-page stories of zookeepers being asked to help a sleeping gorilla masturbate are just the most extreme example of a management gone mad.  [full story]

Cabinet Takes Stick To Abbott's Carrot
Has Federal Cabinet has rolled Tony Abbott's bid to offer Canberra mandarins a pay bonus carrot if they force their workers onto individual contracts?

Abbott had proposed to offer Commonwealth Public Sector chiefs the bonuses to sign their staff onto individual workplace agreements as part of a "Kennett-style assault" on public sector workers.  [full story]

Cyber Action Behind Hilton Win
Sydney�s 500 Hilton Hotel workers have won a magnificent victory, and they owe it to the more than 3000 people from around the world who joined a cyber-picket line sending protest e-mails to the Hilton Hotel chains top executives.

Union members at the Sydney Hilton Hotel � which is shutting down in a few weeks time for a $400 million makeover � voted this week to accept a sharply improved redundancy offer, the key point in two month long negotiations.  [full story]

Aussies Back On Board
In a slap in the face for Federal Government policy on flag of convenience shipping Australian Crews returned to their estranged ship ANL Australia (alias OOCL Australia) in Port Botany, Sydney after a three-month absence.

The big win for Australian seafarers follows a ruling by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in August; preventing the crew being made redundant and ordering the parties back to the negotiating table.  [full story]

ALSO MAKING NEWS

 City Workers To Help Country Cousins

 Sour Taste for Wine Workers

 Government Grounds Ansett Levy

 TAB Workers Winners as Cup Strike Averted

 Aussie Post Gets Mail On Sick Leave

 Council Backs Community Radio Venture

 First Steps to Compo Clean-Up

 Workers Out! Conference Opens In Sydney

 Aussie Union Rep Power, Yes Please: TUC

 New Burma Shame File

 Activists Notebook

email workers to a friend latest breaking news from labornet
�If you don�t want to work six days a week they won�t give you a start, or they�ll drop you for the next job," electrician Anthony Stavropoulos.

E D I T O R I A L
Service fees are not about bullying or conscription; they are about turning the rhetoric of the rationalists back on themselves.

Wisdom of Solomon

C O L U M N S

Month In Review
War and Pieces of Work
The Bali Tragedy dominated the news this month, leaving many questioning the motive and wondering if this is fallout from Australia�s unquestioning support of George Dubya�s �War On Terror�.

The Soapbox
Beware of Greeks Bearing Historical Allusions
Roland Stephens argues that the current popular line that the USA is a modern day version of the Roman Empire is flawed.

The Locker Room
Over The Fence Is Out
Phil Doyle warms up for another season of hard hitting and fast bowling in the park, making the rules up as he goes along.

Indigenous
The Sea of Hands
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation are five years old. Spokeswoman Dameeli Coates addressed labor Council to mark the event.

Postcard
Tokyo Youth Call
Tokyo unions are relying on young organisers to infiltrate workplaces as part of a major organising campaign, which focuses on non-unionised companies, reports Mary Yaager.

Bosswatch
Still Crazy After All These Years
With new research suggests CEO carry similar personality traits to psycho-paths, the AGM season is proving that there�s little room for logic in our nation�s board rooms.


LETTERS to the Editor
 Trashing the Siren Theory
 More Bali Feed Back
 Clean Election Laws Now!
 And Now, Some Fan Mail!
 Policy Vacuum
 Tom's Postscript

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